Just When You Have It All Figured Out
by RosesForEveryone
Summary: Lucy is in jail with the rest of her friends. How you may ask? Well it involves a series of misunderstandings, assumptions, secrets, unfortunate, and fortunate events. Add a certain lightning dragon slayer to the mix and you get one hell of a hilarious ride. Rating is for later chapters.
1. Chapter 1

**Hello, everyone! I just wanted to say that this is my very first fanfiction ever so I am not sure if it will be any good or not. I have been on this shipping for a while now so I guess you could say it's my crack shipping. If any parts of the story seems like I have copied someone else's story, I did not mean to do so. I have been inspired by many stories on here and so I decided to try my hand at this type of work. Please comment and review because I am not great at grammar and I want to know your thoughts. Thanks for reading!**

 **Hiro Mashima owns Fairy Tail and all corresponding characters. I only own the extra characters and plot.**

 _It wasn't supposed to be this way. Everything should have gone according to the carefully thought out, perfect, mellow plan that I had in my head. Is that too much for a girl to ask for?!_ Lucy thought as she frowned to herself. Lucy was sitting crossed-legged on the edge of the bed with her elbows on her knees and had her cheek resting on one of her hands. She wanted to look at the stars but the moon was full so that any stars that were within a close proximity of the hovering piece of rock couldn't be seen. Oh well, the metal bars in the window blocked her view anyway.

The plan that Lucy held ever since she was a little girl should have come to fruition. It's completely modest and realistic. Really, all Lucy wanted was her storybook romance. A dashing, handsome Prince Charming who she meets by sheer accident; it's love at first sight for him and following a short period of time afterward of our initial meeting, he romanticizes her and they fall madly in love. Some evil doers present themselves and there is some immense, dramatic climax where he fights for her heart, prevails over their foes, and secures their livelihood. Finally he gallantly sweeps her off her feet and rides off with her into the sunset and they live happily ever after with 33 kids in a colossal castle on a cliff overlooking the sea. The end. End of story. No more, no less. No sequels and no pointless arguing. Completely modest and realistic. That's how it was supposed to be.

Of course, that is the wrong kind of fairy tale. Lucy happens to be involved with the other kind.

The kind that never wants to follow any of her ideal plans. Oh no, they have to go and make everything…complicated. By "they", Lucy means her friends in the Fairy Tail guild. She loves them all as her family, she really does, but a person can only take so much. Now because of them, her life has grown so complex that she is in her current predicament.

Lucy is in jail with almost all of the core members of Fairy Tail around her. The girls are in one large jail cell and the guys are in an identical jail cell directly across from theirs. Each cell is long and rectangular with three beds lining the back wall and a small barred window above each one. One more bed occupies each of the side walls to bring the grand total of the number of beds up to five. A wide metal barred door is located in the middle of the vertical bars that line the fourth wall. Lucy's sitting on the middle of one of the back beds, looking out across the hallway into the boy's jail cell at her boyfriend with an irritated and tired look on her face.

He is sitting on the one of the back beds, leaning against the wall. His arms are crossed and he has a deep scowl across his face. Anyone who didn't know him would think he looks calm and collected… but Lucy knows better. He is tense with irritation, stress, anger, ire and jealousy. If it weren't for the anti-magic seals on each of the jail cells then there would _definitely_ be lightning crackling around his massive body. Right now he was just trying to stay calm enough to not punch all of the idiots that he was locked up with, out cold.

Lucy turns her attention to the other occupants of her jail cell. Erza was hugging her knees in the corner, sulking over the idea that Jellal doesn't like strawberry cake and, for whatever reason, she still hasn't changed out of her alien costume.

A shirtless Gajeel, who was given special permission to be allowed in the girl's cell due to him being handcuffed to Levy and his outright refusal to not be within a foot of her, is laying down one of the beds on the side spooning Levy. She, consequently, is being the "little spoon" and looks extremely embarrassed from the public showing of affection from him, the fact that she is in jail, and knowing that everyone has now seen her in the black teddy that she and Lucy went shopping for just a few weeks ago. Lily is curled up into a super fuzzy, little black ball at the bottom of their feet snoozing away.

Juvia is standing by the jail cell bars trying to convince Gray that she isn't pregnant with Lyon's love child. Lucy is positive Gray believes her but Juvia is not convinced and after two days of her continuous ranting even Lucy is getting sick of her. How could she think that he does not believe her? What man would sleep with a woman with Gray's face all over her belongings and room? Besides Lyon. Not that she did. Maybe?

Carla is trying to get the _massive_ wad of gum out of Wendy's hair without getting anymore stuck, which is damn near impossible. Wendy is trying not to cry over how much of her hair will have to be cut out even though Lucy has told her that she'll just have Cancer fix it once they get out of jail.

Elfman has a hold on the bars yelling down the hall trying to get the guard's attention about him being a man and thus needs to be in the other cell. Even though technically, he is a woman right now. And the fact that he/she is wearing a pink floral negligee is not helping his/her case.

Finally, Cana is attempting to pick the lock on the door. She is continuously mumbling to herself about needing to get a drink and killing anyone who gets in her way. Six days of keeping her sober down the drain.

Across the hall, the boys are not faring any better. Natsu is tied up with a rope and hanging upside down from the ceiling, screeching about how he is going to kill Laxus once he gets down. Happy is directly underneath him concentrating his time and energy on calming the pink-haired dragon slayer down.

Gray is cursing the universe and all of those who reside in it while trying to get out of his feathered and lace wedding dress. Nab and Vijeeter are trying to help him but they keep getting the dress's corset strings tangled together and are just making the whole situation worse. Occasionally, Gray will yell at Natsu to shut up or insult him; only to have Natsu completely ignore him in his attempts to free himself and kill Laxus.

Damus is sitting on one of the back beds gripping onto the edge of the bed with Max and Warren on either side of him, attempting the free the wedged trophy from his head. With every pull, Damus yelps at the pain and pulls away from Max and Warren's grip. They've asked for some kind of lubricant but the guards are not very sympathetic towards an idiot that got his head stuck in a bowling trophy.

Macao and Wakaba are examining the tattoos that they so brilliantly decided to get while they were drunk several hours ago. Macao had the word 'Wakaba' in big, bold, black, cursive capital letters across his lower back. While Wakaba had the word 'Macao' written across his lower back in the exact same style letters. Lucy still can't believe her eyes. Two middle aged men that have teenage children, gossips about perverse subjects daily, and actually ran the Fairy Tail guild for 7 years literally drank like there was no tomorrow and got matching tramp stamps. Meanwhile, Romeo is passed out drunk on the bed behind the pair, snoring loud enough to give Natsu a run for his money.

Mimicking Elfman, Evergreen is yelling down the hall towards the guards about how she is a woman and deserves the decency of residing with the other females. It seems that she has also forgotten that 'she' is now a 'he' so she/he is currently in the correct cell. What is even more disturbing is how she/he is wearing one of Elfman's oversized t-shirts that oddly match the negligee that Elfman is currently wearing.

Sitting next to Laxus, Freed looks overly relaxed as he has his eyes slightly closed, a goofy smile spread across his face and spontaneously giggles at random times. His eyes slowly widen and he looks at her boyfriend, and asks "Master Thor, when are you going back Asgard?" He glares at Freed to command his silence. Freed reluctantly agrees with a sorrowful look but within two minutes he has forgotten his unspoken promise to his leader and continues to ask ridiculous questions with that goofy look on his face. It's all Bickslow's fault for getting him high but it's Laxus who is paying the price. Poor guy.

Thinking of Bickslow, Lucy glances at the other side of the room to observe the seith mage and Lucy's not sure whether she should cringe or chuckle at his situation. Wearing only his boxers, Bickslow is trying to get his possessed sex doll to stop moaning his name every ten seconds. Every time he stops the doll from moaning then she starts calling him little pet names like "baby", "sugar lips", "lover boy", and the scariest one, "honey-boo-boo-kins". Once he gets the doll to stop calling him the names she just goes back to moaning and the process starts all over again.

The last of the occupants of the boy's side of the jail is Jet and Droy. After accidently taking their own love potions they are now making out with their own reflections in mirrors that they each obtained by unknown means to herself.

Lucy returns her attention back to her own thoughts about their predicament. All in all, they are pretty screwed up at the moment. And it's only one o'clock in the morning too. There is going to be a _long_ night ahead of them. Lucy heaves a heavy sigh just thinking about everything that is to come within the next couple of days.

Just when you have it all figured out…something always seems to come along and messes it up.

Lucy didn't plan for anything to go like this. To end up this way. But here they all are. How can so many things get so...so…well, fucked up? It didn't begin here. Oh no, not here. It all started a little over 5 months ago in her apartment. Where else would it start?

 **Well that's the first chapter. Was it any good? Was it bad? Please review because I really want to know your thoughts. Again, thanks for reading!**


	2. Chapter 2

**I just want to say thank you to everyone who has favorited and followed my story, you guys are the best! I honestly didn't think this story would grab anyone's attention so I'm humbled that so many have liked it. Once again, thanks to everyone who favorited and followed.**

 **Hiro Mashima owns Fairy Tail and all corresponding characters. I only own the extra characters and plot.**

Sunlight began to dimly light the morning sky as the sun began to rise above the earth. It spread over the tops of trees, rocks, the sea, and the town of Magnolia. The cool and crisp air from the previous night still lingered throughout the region. Along with the rising of the sun came the birds and their songs to start the melody and rhythm of the day to come. Other small animals would scamper to and fro trying to find breakfast for them and their young in the East Forest while the larger animals were still asleep.

Fishermen, store clerks, and young school children could be the first ones seen moving about the waking city. Necessity is propelling each of them along their paths to accomplish their daily regimens. The school children yelled, talked, and played games as they made their way to school to learn. Store windows were lifted, doors unlocked, signs changed from 'Sorry, We Are Closed' to 'We're Open, Come On In!', various products were restocked on the same shelves that held the same products the day before, and cash registers were dinging throughout the multitude of shops that lined the streets. Fishermen were inspecting their boats, repairing any torn nets, baiting their hooks, and preparing the masts that would be lifted once they set out to sea. However, some of the fishermen were rowing small rowboats down the canals that flow throughout the city.

By one of these canals lies a small reddish-orange two-story apartment building with a brown tiled roof. A wooden door is situated in the middle of the building with two windows on either side above the door in the middle section of the house, overlooking the street and canal out front. The apartments are not small but not large either. One, in particular, has a queen sized bed with a pink comforter, a dresser, a round dining table with three chairs situated around it, a coffee table, a cushiony arm chair, an armoire, and three bookshelves filled with books in the living area. On the left side of the room, the entrance is found and on the right side of the room were the doorways to the kitchen and bathroom. The kitchen incorporates an oven, a sink, ample counter space, cupboards that line the wall above the counter, and cabinets underneath the counter. Finally, there is the bathroom where a bathtub, a long oval mirror, and a sink rested. This entire ensemble is currently rented by a blonde wizard by the name of Lucy Heartfilia.

Sounds of birds chirping, people talking and flowing water is becoming sharper and clearer to Lucy as she is roused from her sleep. She tries opening her eyes but they feel crusted over with sleep and she has to blink a couple of times to rid some of the sand and sleep from them. Turning over to look at the time Lucy sees that it is mid-morning. Damn. She had drawn her curtains the night before to block out most of the sunlight this morning so that she could sleep in for once. And she means really sleep in. However, what Lucy didn't anticipate were the sounds. They can't be blocked out easily so her plan of sleeping in has failed miserably.

Deciding that her idea deserved a second chance, Lucy pulls her super fluffy comforter over her head and nestles into her pillow. She closes her eyes and waits for sleep to take ahold of her once again. Maybe she can go back to that dream she was just having. She can't remember what it was exactly but she knew it was a great dream.

"Lushy, move your…foot…," says a sleepy, annoying little voice.

Lucy's eyes shoot open at the sound of her intruder. Or should she say _intruders._ Because that voice can only belong to a certain pain in the ass blue cat and wherever he can be found his pink-haired partner is never far behind. Lucy tears her comforter off of her bed only to find Natsu lying on his stomach on the side of the bed next to the window with Happy curled up next to their feet.

Natsu's spiky pink hair is spread out on the pillow as he slept. His onyx colored eyes is closed and his mouth is parted to give way to light snoring. Still wearing his trademark white and scaled scarf, he also sports his one-sleeved black jacket with yellow trim that showed off his red Fairy Tail guild mark on his right upper arm and white pants. Since his jacket is taunt around his body due to his sleeping position, Lucy could see where his lean back muscles were stretching and contracting as he inhaled and exhaled. Happy is on the end of the bed. His blue fur with the exception of white in a circle on his belly and on the end of his tail stands out amongst her pink sheets.

"NATSU! GET OUT OF MY BED!" Lucy screams as she Lucy Kicks both of them out of her bed and into the opposing wall in her room. They ram head first into wall with a thud and moans are heard a few seconds later. Lucy rolls out of bed and stands protectively in front of it with her arms down by her sides and her hands curled into fists. There is no way she is going to let them back into her bed. She is already annoyed that she couldn't sleep in as much as she wanted to and these two idiots are only serving to make her mood worse. Lucy glares at them as they straighten up and rub their heads. Natsu maneuvers to sit crossed legged on the floor while Happy stands up next to him.

"Lucy, what was that for? I was having a great dream about spiced chicken roasting over a bonfire," groans Natsu.

"Aye, and I was having a dream about fish," seconds Happy.

"Why were you in my bed?!" Lucy yells at both of them. "I have told the both of you a thousand times to quit sneaking into my apartment!"

"We were sleeping, duh."

"Why don't you go sleep in your own house?!"

"Because your bed isn't at our house, it's here," he adds as he points to the floor.

"I mean, why do you guys always feel the need to invade _my_ privacy and sleep in _my_ bed?!" Lucy practically hisses at him.

"Well, you have the most comfy bed in the whole world so they would rather sleep in it than our hammock."

Lucy heaves a heavy sigh and with an irritated expression, she asks, "Then why don't you just buy your own bed?"

"Why would I do that when you have one? Jeez Lucy, you're even weirder in the morning." Natsu states as if it is the most obvious answer it the world.

Lucy deadpans at his stupidity and lack of a better excuse.

It's too early for this. Should she try to argue with him? On one hand she can attempt to reason with the fire dragon slayer. If she can make him understand that if he went out and bought a mattress for himself, he could sleep in it at any time without her getting mad at him. Plus she wouldn't have to worry about him coming over anymore. It would solve everything.

On the other hand she could not attempt to reason with him and save her energy for the rest of the day. After all, arguing with Natsu is like arguing with a destructive, oblivious, ten year old, little brother. He always goes snooping around in her things without her permission, he never listens to her, he eats all of her food, he destroys most of her things then acts like he didn't do anything wrong, and always calls _her_ weird for giving him a perfectly logical complaint.

Maybe she'll get lucky today. Maybe today will be the day she finally gets through that thick skull of hi…

 _CRASH!_

Lucy looks to where the sound originated from and finds Happy sitting on the floor in the kitchen with a large bowl on his head and multiple carp surrounding him. "And what do you think you're doing?" she asks with her hands on her hips.

"I was trying to get some breakfast when I accidently lost my grip," replies a muffled Happy.

Forgetting her previous debate with herself, Lucy inwardly sighs before she moves to help him pick up the fish. As Lucy stoops to pull the carp off the floor, Happy peeps out from underneath the bowl to examine her. "Are you angry Lucy?" he asks.

Lucy looks into his big round eyes and knows that he didn't mean to spill the fish. "No, I'm not mad anymore."

"Are you sure?"

"Yeah, just tired I guess," Lucy says trying to reassure him. Lucy looks at Natsu over her shoulder and yells, "You're forgiven too." A big goofy grin spreads across Natsu's face before he starts to crawl across the living room floor into the kitchen to help Lucy and Happy with cleaning up.

This is exactly why Lucy can never stay mad at those two. Even though they are tremendously annoying, they both mean well and never truly want to hurt her feelings. Natsu is her best friend and has always been there to help her whenever she really needed him.

He was the one who found her in Hargeon and brought her to Fairy Tail. Even though initially he only needed her because she is blonde, they developed a trusting friendship over the many adventures they went on. Sometimes they would team up with Gray Fullbuster, Erza Scarlet, Wendy Marvel, and Carla; only to usually wind up destroying most of the town and losing half of the reward money.

The two most significant events that brought them closer though was the return from Tenrou Island and the Grand Magic Games. When they returned to the world after they were frozen in time for seven years, everyone that was trapped had to rely on each other for support because they all felt like they missed so much of life. Just knowing that there was a group of people that understood how it felt to lose out on so much precious time with loved ones, events, and being a part of the world made it easier to cope. He even helped Lucy when she grieved for her father.

Afterwards, they competed side-by-side in the Grand Magic Games. Helping to return the title of the 'Strongest Guild in Fiore' back to Fairy Tail is something to hold pride in. Even though she lost on the fourth day, Natsu got revenge for her by beating the Twin Dragons of Sabertooth. Then the kingdom captured Lucy and Natsu swore to rescue her. With the help of Happy, Wendy, Carla, Mira, and Lily, they managed to successfully bypass the Garou Knights only to run into herself from the future. She told them of how tens of thousands of dragons will come through the Eclipse Gate and destroy the world. They vowed to change the future together but when Future Rogue appeared and killed the future Lucy, she began to doubt that they could change anything. Maybe they were meant to die; that there is nothing they could do, they were just insignificant specks of dust in the passing wind.

Natsu never gave up though. He gave her hope. Hope that they could survive. With her renewed strength, she stopped the Eclipse Gate from releasing all of the dragons and only let seven through. All of the dragon slayers, Natsu, Gajeel, Wendy, Laxus, Sting, Rogue, and Cobra, came together in that moment to defeat the dragons. Though none of the dragons were truly defeated, when Natsu destroyed the Eclipse Gate they were all sent back to their own time. They changed the future. The world is safe once again and Lucy knows that she could have never done it without Natsu by her side. Lucy knows deep down in her heart that he would never abandon her; that he'll always be there to support her and stand beside her. She smiles as she remembers all of the memories they share.

"Luce? Luuuucy. Earthland to Lucy," a faraway voice says. Coming back to reality, Lucy realizes that as she got lost in her memories she has slowly stopped picking up the fish and Natsu and Happy have been trying to get her attention for the past five minutes.

"Hey, you okay?" asks Natsu.

"Yeah. Yeah I'm good. Just remembering some of our adventures." Lucy answers as she gives him one of her biggest smiles.

"Great, hey, what do you say about going on a job? Happy and I need some food money," exclaims Natsu excitedly.

"Ahe!" comes the muffled voice of Happy as he munches on a fish.

"Sure, sounds like plan. Just let me get dressed first and then we can go to the guild and pick one out. You guys can have some breakfast while I get ready."

Both nod their heads excitedly at the prospects of further raiding her fridge. Lucy shakes her head at their antics as she walks back into her living room to pick out her outfit for the day. Lucy chooses her standard attire: a white tube top with a sweetheart neckline, yellow trim, and a blue heart in the center, a matching blue sleeveless jacket, blue arm sleeves with white ends, a short, dark blue skirt, a white belt to hold her keys and whip, and black thigh-high leggings. Walking into the bathroom with her clothes, she decides that a quick bath is in order.

Lucy runs the bathwater before she starts to undress. When the tub is almost full, she turns the faucet off and slips into the glorious water. As she begins to scrub herself she lets her mind wander back to some of the other old memories of her, Natsu, and Happy's adventures: The time on Galuna Island, the photo shoot for Sorcerer Weekly, the Tower of Heaven battle, the Battle of Fairy Tail, fighting the Oración Seis, traveling to Edolas, competing against one another on Tenrou Island for the S-Class exams, and destroying the Infinity Clock. Before she knew it, she has fully washed herself and has been sitting enjoying the water.

"Hey Luce, you almost done in there?" Natsu yells from the other room.

"Yeah, one sec," Lucy answers. She gets out of the tub, grabs a towel and dries herself off. After she puts on her clothes, she does a quick check in the mirror to make sure everything is in the right place.

Her shoulder-length blonde hair is pulled in two ponytails with her bangs slightly parted to the left and two framing her face. Her big brown eyes has no sand in them from sleeping, her small nose is clear of all blackheads but her lips looked at little chapped. Easy fix. Just put a little bit of lip balm on…voilà all fixed. And to put the icing on the cake her hourglass figure is flawless. _I look super cute,_ Lucy thinks as she gives herself a small wink in the mirror.

"Alright let's go," Lucy says as she walks out of the bathroom.

Natsu walks over to the window and jumps out with Happy flying right behind him.

"Use the door!"

"That takes too long. Come on, hurry up!"

 _Uh, why do I even try?_ Lucy internally sighs as she closes and locks her window. She throws on her brown, knee high leather boots before she locks her apartment door behind her.

The two of them are waiting for Lucy and they begin to walk to the guild hall side-by-side. As they walk through the city, Lucy takes in the sights. Birds chirping and singing their songs, young children run home after a long day at school, shopkeepers are shouting out deals for their products, and the fishermen in the canals wave hello as they pass.

Before they know it, they arrive at the greatest building in Magnolia. The Fairy Tail guild hall. It is a large stone structure with three floors and a bell tower in the middle that makes it have a castley pyramid design. At least that's what Lucy thinks. The tiles on the roof are brown in color and the massive bell that hangs at the very top of the building has a golden shine to it. The gateway has the words 'Fairy Tail' written across the top and allows guests inside of the wall that circles the guild hall. Between the wall and the building lies the outside courtyard. The souvenir shop is open for business with Max selling all kinds of knick-knacks featuring the members of the guild and the outdoor café is bustling with business. Every one of the couple dozen of round, wooden tables were filled. Past the courtyard is the entrance to the building.

They push the large wooden doors open and are greeted with the familiar sight of all of their friends. Gray, Erza, Wendy, and Carla are sitting at one of the tables talking. Levy is reading a book and Gajeel is having his breakfast of metal nuts, bolts, and old utensils at another table. Jet and Droy are having an eating contest not too far away from the pair. The Thunder Legion is bickering about some issue that probably involves their leader near the middle of the bar where Laxus sits. Master Makarov is sitting to Laxus' left on the bar drinking his beer. Juvia is hiding behind a pillar watching/stalkingGray. Macao and Wakaba are sitting at one of the tables drinking beer and talking about "the good ole days". Asuka is running around her parents who look on happily. Nab is standing next to the request boards trying to find the perfect job. He won't find anything, he never does. Vijeeter is practicing his latest dance on stage with Warren sweat dropping at his performance. Elfman is sitting at the end of the bar chatting amiably with Lisanna while Mira is busy with all of her customers. On the other end of the bar sat Cana as she chugs a barrel of wine. _Yep just a normal day. Well almost…_

"Ice Stripper! Let's fight, I have a score to settle with you from yesterday!" yells Natsu as soon as he lays eyes on his rival.

"Not now Flame Brain, can't you see I'm having a conversation," replies Gray coldly.

"What? Are you scared?" mocks Natsu as he strides across the guild floor to the table where Gray is sitting.

"What did you say?!" says Gray as he begins to stand up.

"I said you're a spineless worm!" Natsu yells as he gets in Gray's face.

Gray slams his forehead into Natsu's to glare at him in the eyes. "Oh yeah, you want to say that again you gutless weasel?"

"I'm not a gutless weasel, you prancing ice dancer!"

"Pathetic pink haired pyro!"

"Exhibitionist!"

"Wannabe lizard!"

"Why you!" yells Natsu as he rams his fist into Gray's left cheek. Gray is flung back but recoils from the action only to give an uppercut to Natsu's jaw. Natsu goes flying across the room into Elfman's back. Elfman turns around and punches Natsu in the side sending him across the room again.

"A real Man never attacks someone in the back!" yells Elfman as he stands up from the bar. Across the room Natsu has regained his balance and lunges at Gray again, ignoring Elfman, and the two of them start throwing punches, kicks, elbows, knees, and heads in an all-out fight. Feeling left out Elfman joins the fray. A chair gets thrown by someone and hits Gajeel in the head and since he is not one to let things go, he starts attacking the other three. Before too long almost every other member has been caught up in the brawl with chairs, tables, and people being thrown in all directions.

Usually about this time is when Erza stops the fighting but she is so consumed with her cake she doesn't really notice the fight. Juvia, Lisanna, and Cana cheer from the sidelines while Master is simply watching from his seat on the bar. _Now it's a normal day_ , Lucy thinks as she frowns at the mess.

Lucy carefully walks over to the bar, making sure to avoid the brawl, to sit on Laxus' right side as it is the only barstool that isn't occupied or hasn't been destroyed. "Good morning, Laxus. Good morning, Master." Lucy says cheerfully as she sits down.

Laxus looks at Lucy out of the corner of his eye and grunts in response, showing his acknowledgment of her presence. Master is more talkative than his grandson when he says, "Good morning, Lucy. How are you doing today child?"

"I'm doing great, thanks for asking. Um, Master aren't you going to stop the fight?" Lucy asks seriously as she points around her body to the disaster that it happening behind her. Master takes a minute to ponder her question before he starts to open his mouth.

Out of her peripheral vision she sees something moving towards her at a tremendous speed and she turns her head to see a chair flying at her. Lucy gasps as she tries to shield herself with her arms.

Suddenly at the last second, Laxus' arm extends outward in front of Lucy and smashes the chair to a million pieces. The most she is hit with is several pieces of tiny debris. Her eyes go wide with shock and she turns her head to look him, only to find him with an irritated look on his face.

"That's enough!" yells Master Makarov a second later. Everyone freezes in place. "You damn brats are going to wreck the whole guild if you keep this up! Now stop fighting!" No one disobeys the Master and quickly resumes what they were doing before the fight. Some even start cleaning up the mess they made. Natsu and Happy move in front of the request board to examine the jobs.

Lucy is still in shock over how Laxus protected her and doesn't realize that she is staring at him until she hears Mira calling her name. "Lucy? Lucy?"

She turns to look at the barmaid, "Huh? Oh, what is it Mira?" Her blue eyes were filled with motherly worry, her eyebrows creased together, and her lips are slightly parted. Lucy has never liked that face. She prefers the smiling one that complimented Mira's long, white, curled hair that flows down her back and her red magenta dress that shows off her model figure.

"I asked you if there is anything you want?" Mira says in a worried tone.

"Oh, sorry! Can I please have a strawberry milkshake?"

"Sure thing, just give me a few minutes, okay?"

"Of course."

Mira smiles sweetly as she walks into the kitchen to fill her order.

Lucy turns her attention back to the man sitting beside her and examines him. He is massive to say the least. Every inch of him is nothing but thick, well worked muscle and his height only adds to his size. Lucy only comes up to his mid chest. The fur lined coat that hangs loosely off of his broad shoulders conceals most of the bulging muscles but definitely makes him appear bigger and more intimidating. Adding to the intimidation factor is his face. He always holds a scowl over his lips, his eyes are half-lidded with disinterest, his spiky, slightly-darker-than-hers blonde hair is pulled back except for a little tuft of hair in the center of his forehead, and he has a prominent scar in the shape of a lightning bolt that is etched into his skin from above his right eyebrow down into his lower right cheek. Lucy has never thought that he is unattractive. No, not once. In fact, in her opinion, Lucy would have to say that he is quite good looking…

"Something wrong with my face?"

"Huh," is all Lucy could muster as she is pulled out of her thoughts after hearing his deep voice.

"I said, 'Is there something wrong with my face'?" he asks accusingly. One of his eyebrows is cocked and his face turned towards Lucy.

"Oh no! Why would you think there is something wrong with your face?" Lucy says as she waves her hands in front of her face.

"Because you've been staring at me," he replies nonchalantly.

Realizing that he caught her staring when she was thinking about how attractive he is makes Lucy blush. She turns her head away from him so he couldn't see the redness in her cheeks. "I'm sorry," Lucy manages to squeak out, "Um…thanks for saving me."

After eyeing her for a few minutes Laxus grunts in her direction and turns back to his near empty mug of beer. Lucy couldn't bring herself to look at him. Even though her blush is almost gone, it is too embarrassing to know that she was caught staring at Laxus Dreyar by Laxus Dreyar. Of all the people to stare at it just had to be him.

"Here you go!" rang Mira's sweet voice as she sat Lucy's milkshake down in front of her.

Lucy raises her head and thanks Mira before she starts to suck on the straw to drink her beverage.

"No problem, Lucy."

"Another beer Mira" Laxus says as he sits his empty mug down on the counter.

"Sure thing Laxus, coming right up."

"Hey Luce," Lucy turns around to see Natsu walking over with a piece of paper in his hand and Happy laying on top of his head. "I found us a job," he says as he slams the paper down next to her and gives her a mischievous grin.

As she reads over the flyer she can't help but notice that Laxus is trying to, secretly, read it as well out of the corner of his eye.

 _Help wanted. Training substitutes needed._

 _We are in need of practiced, professional mages who are willing to be dummy substitutes in a training ground. The mages will be required to use defensive as well as offensive measures._

 _Room and board and food are provided._

 _All types of magic are permissible._

 _Location: Gillamoor_

 _Payment: 25,000 Jewel_

Lucy raises an eyebrow at Natsu silently questioning his choice in the job. He stands there with a smile on his face, not catching her passive looks at all or just completely ignoring them. She's pretty sure that it's the latter. "Why did you pick this job Natsu? It doesn't pay very much and I thought you needed food money."

"Well we do need the money but when we saw that there is a fighting job that also pays for our food we just have to pick it! Just think about all of the asses we get to kick and food we get to eat!" Natsu exclaims excitedly.

"Aye sir!" agrees Happy.

 _Of course, why else would they do this?_ After rereading the flyer two more times Lucy agrees to go. Natsu fist pumps the air in his excitement. Grabbing Mira's attention, they tell her they'll take the job and she marks it off in the official log book. She says that she'll call the client to confirm their trip. They should be prepared to start the job tomorrow and to pack for three days.

"How far away is Gillamoor by train?" Lucy asks as she finishes her milkshake.

"About 6 hours."

Lucy hands Mira her empty glass, "Okay, when does the next train leave Mira?"

She pulls out a long slip of paper that shows the train numbers with arrival times and departure times for each one. "Looks like there is only one train leaving today and that will be in 3 hours. Otherwise you'll have to wait until tomorrow afternoon."

 _We can't wait until tomorrow to leave, the client will be expecting us in the morning. That means that we'll have to get there tonight. Looks like we'll be staying overnight somewhere before we can go to the job in the morning. I hope we don't go camping. I hate camping…_

"That's fine," she says as she hides her annoyance at the possibility of not sleeping in a bed tonight. Lucy turns back to face her two partners. "Does that sound okay with the two of you?" Natsu looks slightly green from the mention of the word 'train' but nods yes.

"Well then I'm going to go pack. I'll meet up with you guys at the train station in two and a half hours. Sound good?"

"Yelp! Sounds good to us!" Happy and Natsu say together. "We're going to go ahead and go then, see ya later Lucy," both wave as they run or fly out the front door. Lucy shakes her head at the pair, they can be such kids.

"You three have fun," Mira says sweetly as she refills a mug.

"I'll try," Lucy states sarcastically. She didn't mean for it to be so sarcastic but it just came out that way. If she offended Mira she didn't show it. Standing up from her barstool Lucy took a quick glance at Laxus. He has been silent throughout the whole conversation so she isn't sure if he is even listening. She hasn't forgotten the conversation from earlier so she wanted to make sure that he really isn't angry with her or anything. He looks calm as he nurses his beer so she takes that as a sign that everything is cool.

As Lucy turns to leave he speaks, "Don't get hurt Lucy."

Lucy looks back at him and sees that he wasn't looking in her direction. The blush from earlier comes back full force as Lucy hurries out of the guild.

* * *

Laxus waits for Mira to give him his first mug of beer for the day. His teammates are still having their stupid argument from this morning and Laxus has been trying hard to ignore them but with nothing else to do he unconsciously gives them part of his attention.

"It is a big deal!" Freed says sternly towards the other two members of his team.

Freed, the self-proclaimed leader of the Thunder Legion, his team and closest friends, is the "proper" one of the group. His outfit is a knee-length red coat with light pink trim and four buttons on the upper half, a belt around his waist to hold his sword, a puffy-necktie-shirt-thing, and light colored pants. Even though he is a man, he has more feminine facial features: slim green eyes with prominent eyelashes, a small mouth, a small nose, and a beauty mark under his left eye. Long, light green hair that's tied at the end, bangs covering his right eye, which holds his Dark Écriture magic inside of it, and the sides of his face, and two strands pointing out the top of his head that look like antennae.

"It is not!" exclaims Bickslow. His five totems repeated "is not" several times after their "master".

Bickslow is the other guy in Laxus' team. He is a tall man, not as tall as Laxus but tall nevertheless. Same goes for his build; he's built but not as much as Laxus. His clothes consist of a black, vertically striped long-sleeved shirt that reaches from the top of his head down to his waist, a black cape with red trim, gray shoulders, and fur around the collar, a long light purple skirt with black pants underneath, metal gauntlets on each forearm, a tuft of purple feathers sticking out the back of his head from his shirt, and a gray metal visor that covers his eyes. Without the visor or the top part of his shirt, one could see his red eyes that each have a single long eyelash that curls at the end, a blue tri-hawk with black hair in between, tan skin, a wide mouth, and a thick stick-like figure marking from his forehead down the center of his face and each side of his nose. Luckily he keeps his visor on so that no one is subjected to his Figure Eyes. The man looks like he's going for some kind of medieval-knight-jester look. Laxus has given up trying to figure out Bickslow's fashion sense.

Due to his soul-controlling magic, he also has five small tiki totems floating around him with different facial features and emotions painted on them that he keeps his harvested souls in.

"I think you're overreacting Freed," Evergreen adds somewhat haughtily.

Evergreen, Ever to a select few, is the only girl in the Thunder Legion. A voluptuous woman, she wears a tight, short, low-cut green dress with ruffles on the top and bottom that shows off her green guild mark on the right of her chest, fish net stockings, and purple heels. She has dark brown eyes, thick eyelashes, pink lips, and long, curly, light brown hair. Her eye magic is known as Stone Eyes which can turn anyone who looks her in the eye into stone and wears oval glasses to control this ability.

"How am _I_ the one who is overreacting?"

"Because you're the one who is making a mountain out of a molehill," says Bickslow. "Molehill, molehill, molehill," chirps the totems.

Freed gasps at Bickslow, it is obvious that he can't believe what the Seith mage had just said. Laxus could. Pulling pranks is just in Bickslow's character. Laxus knows it. Bickslow knows it. Ever knows it. Hell, even Freed knows it but the green haired man has to protect his honor for some stupid ass reason. Besides, Bickslow was just paying Laxus back for almost breaking one of his totems yesterday. Although, Laxus does admit that he did get him good. He ended up tearing his bathroom door off of its hinges and now he has a splitting headache from all of the noise.

Laxus could solve this whole argument by telling Freed that he is blowing this whole scenario way out of proportion but he has learned not to tell him that he's wrong when it comes to matters involving him. If Laxus did then Freed would start the water works and apologize for three days about how he failed him even though he hasn't. Bickslow's ego would go through the roof and he wouldn't stop bragging about how he got one up on Freed. Both of the guys would annoy Evergreen and then she'll start shouting at both of them for as long as necessary to get them to shut up. All he would get in the end is a massive headache. And right now all he wants is to get rid of the one he has currently. So Laxus just stays out of it, it's better for everyone.

"You mean to insinuate that tying a string from Laxus' bathroom door to an air horn and having it blow every time he opens it, is not cruel and completely unnecessary?!"

"It's only _slightly_ cruel and unnecessary. You know like a practical joke kind of cruel and unnecessary, not the-whole-world-is-going-to-end kind of cruel and unnecessary like you're making it."

"I think you are both being idiots. I swear, why do men have to pull pranks on one another?"

"It is how we show that we're friends."

"That's just stupid!"

"Would the two of you stop arguing and get back to the matter at hand? What is important right now is how Bickslow has crossed the line." Freed is attempting to stay composed but his patience is near its breaking point.

"I don't see what the big deal is. It was just a joke and nobody got hurt. Plus it was pretty fucking funny to boot," Bickslow replied as his tongue rolled out of his mouth, showing off his black guild mark.

If someone had told Laxus that Bickslow had rendered Freed speechless, he wouldn't believe them. Not for a second. But the proof was right in front of him. Freed standing there gapping at Bickslow with his face as red as a tomato. Laxus can't tell if it's from irritation, anger, frustration, or some sort of combination of the three. Freed's mouth opens and closes multiple times as he is trying to formulate some witty comeback.

After taking several deep breathes, he regains his pale complexion and faces Bickslow with a cold glare, "I demand a full and sincere apology to our humble leader."

"Nope. Why should I apologize when it isn't a big deal?" Bickslow asks. "Big deal, Big deal."

"Because it is a big deal!" Freed insists.

"Would either one of you just apologize already?! You're getting on my last nerve!" Evergreen demands.

 _Uhhh…why did I get stuck with them as teammates?_ Laxus thinks as he looks around for his beer. Thankfully he sees Mira on her way over with a mug full of the mind numbing liquid. Blocking out his team and their ridiculous repetitive argument, Laxus focuses on his alcohol.

"Here ya go," Mira says happily as she lays the drink in front of him.

"Thanks."

"Sure, just wave me over when you want a refill," she says as she walks away to tend to her other customers.

Laxus chugs down three-quarters of it on his first drink. _Guess I was thirstier than I thought._ Out of the corner of his eye Laxus sees the old man walking over to the bar and hopping up to sit in his designated spot. Laxus gulps the rest of his drink down and calls Mira over for his refill. After taking his cup and receiving an order for the exact same thing from Gramps she leaves.

"Good morning Laxus," his grandfather decides to say.

"Hey gramps," Laxus replies.

The old man nods and turns his attention to his guild.

They don't really talk. They tend to have a silent-companion-type of relationship. Not that Laxus is complaining; in fact, he prefers it that way. Every time they talk, Laxus annoys the shit out of Gramps and he annoys the shit out of him and they get into a big fight in the end. He shouldn't be surprised; after all, Laxus gets his stubbornness from him.

Laxus doesn't usually let anyone tell him what to do. Even his own grandfather. And since he doesn't back down either, it never ends well for them. Talking between them also tends to get personal. They have a long history, as long as Laxus has been alive, so they know each other very well and one thing or another usually gets brought into the mix. That's another reason Laxus prefers not to talk with the old man or anyone else for a matter-of-fact, too much emotional baggage gets brought up and he doesn't need that flaunted around the guild. Too messy. Laxus likes the relationship he has with Gramps now. He didn't always but they've grown accustomed to one another over time.

"A beer for each of the Dreyar men," comes a familiar voice.

"Thank you, Mira," Gramps said happily.

Laxus grunts in her direction, which she takes as a "thanks" and walks away once again. He notices that his headache is practically gone and he can only hope that it stays that way.

The doors to the guild open wide for the newcomers of the day to enter. Almost immediately his nose is hit with an array of varying, familiar smells. The salt of the sea, the perfume of the flowers and trees outside, and the food from the café are customary and they are always there when the doors open. Contrasting these though, there is two different and distinct smells that come with the people who just entered. The guy smells of ash, firewood, and cayenne pepper and the girl smells like strawberries, vanilla, and lilies. Laxus would know those two smells anywhere.

 _Natsu and Lucy are here. The two people who give me the biggest headache have to come to the guild today…fuck me._

"Ice Stripper! Let's fight, I have a score to settle with you from yesterday!" screams the pink haired idiot and it could only be directed at one person.

"Not now Flame Brain, can't you see I'm having a conversation?" Yep, it's Gray.

"What? Are you scared?"

"What did you say?!"

"I said you're a spineless worm!"

"Oh yeah, you want to say that again you gutless weasel?"

"I'm not a gutless weasel, you prancing ice dancer!"

"Pathetic pink-haired pyro!"

"Exhibitionist!"

"Wannabe lizard!"

"Why you!" and a few minutes later the entire guild is involved in one of its infamous brawls.

This is why Natsu gives Laxus a headache. Natsu is an idiot, he has no restraint, he punches anyone and everyone that he thinks deserves it, he's an idiot, he breaks everything, he's loud, he's an idiot, he is always challenging Laxus to a fight whether he is in the mood or not, and he annoys him worse than Gramps. Laxus can already feel another headache coming.

Laxus tries to focus on anything but the slowly growing pain in his head. His efforts are ruined when he hears the chair next to him turning and a feminine voice say, "Good morning, Laxus. Good morning, Master."

 _Why does she have to sit next to me?_ Laxus groans to himself. He looks at her out of the corner of his eye and grunts his hello. Yep, his headache has come back full-force. And it's all her fault...without it being her fault.

She doesn't cause a headache the same way Natsu does. She is never annoying, asks for a challenge, destroys property, or even fights just to fight. And she's definitely not an idiot. As far as Laxus knows she actually uses her brain, contrary to the rest of her teammates. She is always kind and smiles at him when she talks to him. It doesn't make any sense. It never has. Ever since she first came to the guild a dull ache would always appear. Laxus realized after doing some "tests" that the closer she was to him the worse his head hurt.

What about her presence is so terrible? Maybe it's her smell. No, that can't be it. He thinks she smells good…really, really, really good. Her looks? Nope, she's hot. He has never touched or tasted her so he knows neither of those are the reason. The only thing he can think of is her voice. Sometimes when she laughs a painful throbbing hits him but it goes away as quickly as it came. Otherwise her voice never affects him. It's the only thing Laxus have going for him.

After a while Laxus stopped debating the causes and just accepted it. Her presence just causes him pain, plain and simple. Usually it's only mild when there are no other disturbances around so it's not that big of a deal anyhow. It's not her fault that something about her hurts him. She can't help it. And it's not like Laxus can ask her about it anyway. Well he could, but then he would look like the world's biggest asshole. Just one more reason for him to keep his mouth shut.

The good news is that his efforts have not been in vain because they've became friends over the last few months. It was pretty easy considering that she is one of the sanest people in this guild.

"Good morning, Lucy. How are you doing today child?" says Gramps.

"I'm doing great, thanks for asking. Um, Master aren't you going to stop the fight?" she asks.

Gramps turns silent. From behind, Laxus senses something moving at a fast pace towards Lucy. Due to the training Gramps put him through ever since he was young it wouldn't be difficult for him to block it. Lucy is a different story though.

Immediately, he hears a gasp escape from her mouth. She holds her arms up in front of her body to protect herself from whatever is being aimed at her. Before Laxus knows what he was doing, his arm moves in front of her destroying the chair that was accidently thrown at her. Of course it shatters into a million pieces upon impact. There's no comparison between his fist and some stupid wooden chair.

The whole point of her sitting her at the bar with him and Gramps is to avoid the fight. Anyone with eyes could see that. All of the idiots in this guild should know better than to throw objects in their general direction. Fuck his head hurts. Irritation from his headache and the fact that someone in this damn guild nearly hurt someone who didn't want to brawl plasters itself across his face. It was pretty fucking obvious how Laxus felt.

"That's enough!" screams Gramps, "You damn brats are going to wreck the whole guild if you keep this up! Now stop fighting!"

Laxus returns his attention back to his beer in hopes that he can just drown himself in it. Also to ignore how Lucy hasn't stopped looking at him since he saved her.

"Lucy? Lucy?" calls Mira.

"Huh? Oh, what is it Mira?" Finally, she stops looking at him. He doesn't like it when people stare. Never has. He's used to it but that doesn't mean that he has to like it.

"I asked you if there is anything you want?"

"Oh, sorry! Can I please have a strawberry milkshake?"

"Sure thing, just give me a few minutes, okay?"

"Of course."

Lucy shifts her eyes back to Laxus and begins her observation of him again. _Well that didn't take long,_ Laxus thinks as he watches her out of the corner of his eye as she looks him over. A look of contemplation crosses her face when her eyes shift to his face. What is she looking at? Is there something on his face? This is why he doesn't like people staring at him.

"Something wrong with my face?" Laxus says in his attempt to get her to quit.

"Huh?"

"I said, 'Is there something wrong with my face'?" Laxus asks again as he fully faces his admirer.

"Oh no! Why would you think there is something wrong with your face?"

"Because you've been staring at me."

She turns her head away. "I'm sorry. Um…thanks for saving me," she mumbles out.

If it wasn't for his advanced hearing Laxus wouldn't have heard it. _That's it?_ Obviously she isn't going to tell him why his face was so interesting. Even though her head is down he can see some redness along her cheeks. _Is she sick?_

Laxus turns back to his drink with a grunt and chugs the rest of the liquid. "Here you go!" says Mira as she gives the blonde woman her drink.

"Thanks Mira!"

"No problem, Lucy."

"Another beer Mira," Laxus says as he sits his empty mug down on the counter.

"Sure thing Laxus, coming right up."

As Laxus waits, Natsu comes over with a job request in hand. "Hey Luce, I found us a job," he says with a glint in his eye.

That's never a good sign. It usually means that there will be some sort of damage report coming in soon. Hopefully it won't be too bad. Laxus looks over the flyer from the corner of his eye. _Training substitutes?_ _This won't end well for anyone._

"Why did you pick this job Natsu? It doesn't pay very much and I thought you need food money." Meanwhile, Mira sits his mug down in front of him. "Well we do need the money but when we saw that there is a fighting job that also pays for our food we just had to pick it! Just think about all of the asses we get to kick and food we get to eat!"

 _Natsu really is the biggest idiot I know…_

After pondering her fate, Lucy decides to accompany Natsu. Why she puts up with him Laxus doesn't know. They talk all the nitty gritty details out with Mira while he nurses his beer and his receding headache.

"You three have fun." encourages Mira in her motherly voice.

"I'll try," huffs Lucy. It is pretty obvious she isn't looking forward to the trip. Laxus wouldn't either if he had to be cooped up with Natsu all day.

As she was walking out, Laxus gave her the only advice that he could think to give to someone unfortunate enough to be hired as a punching bag with Natsu around. "Don't get hurt Lucy."

In all but 5 seconds she is running out the door.

Laxus looks up from his beer, only to see Mira with her head cocked to the side with a questioning look on her face. He shrugs in response and gets back to more important things, like drinking.

Lucy needed the walk back to her apartment to be uneventful. _Why would he say that? Maybe he was just trying to be nice… No, that can't be right… Laxus isn't the nice kind of guy. He's more of the boorish type of guy. Becoming friends over the past few months has taught me that. If that's what you could call us._

At first they only talked when it was necessary. Then one day they actually held a decent conversation about the Thunder Legion. It was mainly her telling him about how well they adjusted after he left. It only ended because Bickslow had decided that moment was the appropriate time to mimic everything Lucy said with his totems. After that they continued to exchange simple conversations.

Laxus is not a talkative man so Lucy couldn't find out a lot about him. The one thing that she did learn, however, is that he is very blunt. They've gotten used to each other's presence so she assumes that makes them friends. That's what makes it so embarrassing. If she's used to him she shouldn't have been gawking at him like he was some kind of side show attraction.

She can't think about it, she needs to think about the job. Clearing her head from the previous embarrassment, Lucy concentrates on packing. She enters her house and immediately pulls out her pink luggage case and lays it on top of his bed. Lucy goes over to her dresser and pulls out three days' worth of clothes and some books for good measure. Her toiletries are next. Gotta make sure she looks good after all.

Filling up a small portion of her bag with her essentials, she thinks about what else she'll need. _I better pack some food for the trip._ Going into her kitchen, Lucy finds the cabinets practically bare. _Well Natsu and Happy did eat here this morning…_ Her refrigerator is not much better but Lucy manages to find some chicken salad. It will have to do. After making her sandwiches, she tosses the sandwiches into the bag. She looks at the time and she still has another fifteen minutes before she is supposed to meet Natsu. Perfect, just enough time to make it to the train station. Lucy zips up her bag and heads out the door.

Arriving to the platform Lucy walks up to the ticket salesman and buys two tickets. "Thank you and have a nice trip!" offers the employee.

"Thanks," Lucy says as she grabs the tickets. Looking around for a certain mop of pink hair Lucy finds none. She sits down and waits for his partners to get there.

Lo and behold the dynamic duo arrives at the same time the train does. "Hey Luce, you ready to go?" Natsu asks as he walks up to her with Happy in tow.

"Yep, let's go." They head onto the train and sit down in one of the middle seats. The town of Gillamoor is located somewhere in or around some mountains so she knows this trip will be a bit bouncy, unfortunately for Natsu. Lucy pulls out one of her books to read during the ride to pass the time. Natsu is looking out the window and Happy is sitting in the seat next to him chomping on a fish. The moment the train lunges forward Natsu's face turns a hideous green color, he clamps his hands over his mouth, and he bends forward to rest his chest along his upper thighs. Him and his motion sickness, it never fails. Offering him a glass of water, Lucy settles in for the long trip.

After reading for three hours Lucy decides to have her sandwiches. Glancing at Natsu, who has been moaning the whole trip to get him off of this thing called a train, he's practically paralyzed with sickness. Lucy grabs the sandwiches out of her bag and looks out the window as she eats.

The train is inclined on a hill so Lucy could see all across the landscape. There are towering mountains in the far distance with trees covering its base. The trees below spread out over a vast hilly area with each tree seemingly growing larger the closer it came. As the wind blows, the trees all move in synch and give off an illusion of a sea of made of green. The sky above is a perfect blue with sparse clouds littered around. It is like a beautiful, breathtaking painting.

Lucy continues to watch the view until a particularly loud moan brings her back to herself. _Oh, it's just Natsu._ He's splayed out over the seat now, begging to be released from the confines of this torturous contraption. Happy has moved next to him and is currently curled up sleeping. Lucy inwardly sighs and looking down at her hands she realizes that she has forgotten to eat. Quickly scarfing down her sandwiches she turns back to the scenery. They're almost at the base of the mountains. She continues to watch until the sun goes down and there is no more sunlight to see with. The train lights flick on and turning back to her reading, the next two hours goes by quickly.

"Thank you for riding with us and we hope you have a nice night," the conductor says over the loudspeakers.

"Come on Natsu, it's time to get off," she commands as Lucy tugs on his shirt. With Happy's help and some maneuvering, they manage to get him off the train. Instantly perking up with the feel of solid ground under his feet, his stomach rumbles with want.

"Oh man, I'm starving. Let's go get something to eat!" he says without hesitation.

"Yeah let's go eat, then we can go find a hotel," Lucy replies.

Nodding vigorously he starts to run in the opposite direction of the train station down a wide street. "Hold on Natsu!" she yells as she runs after him. When she catches up to him, she yanks on his scarf to slow him down, "Geez, don't be in such a rush." Slowing to a walk, they start looking for a restaurant around town.

Gillamoor is a small rustic town nestled in a little valley in the mountains; the surrounding mountains and the flat area in the middle make a bowl shape in the earth. The town is large enough to cover the flat area and some of the base of the mountains. There is a winding main street that is cobbled with little gray stones and has smaller cobbled streets that maneuver between the many buildings. Lampposts litter the main street on either side with strings of smaller lights strung across between them. Small lights on the side of buildings give light to the smaller streets. Each building has wooden tiled roofs, is made out of dark gray cut stone, and is no more than three stories tall. All of the buildings are closely weaved together so that one can easily jump from one roof top to another. These buildings and street lead all the way up to what looks like a large opening in the mountain with giant wooden pillars on either side and above the opening. It looks like a giant mine shaft or something. To the distance on their left there are multiple bigger houses that sit higher up in the mountain side; all made from the same stone as the smaller buildings.

As they walk further into town Lucy lags behind Natsu and Happy as she takes in the sights. Natsu has his fingers locked behind his head while Happy is lying on top of Natsu's head still half asleep from the train ride. Eventually they come across some buildings being repaired. Men on scaffolds are working with hammers and buckets of nails, bolts, and screws in hand. Wood planks, paint, and metal bars are also being applied. In one building, red and white sparks are flying everywhere from someone welding some metal together. _Why are they working so late?_ Lucy thinks to herself.

She hears rapid footsteps approaching and her body is shoved aside as a young man rushes past her. Lucy opens her mouth to tell the jerk off but…

"LOOK OUT!" he screams as he tackles Natsu from behind and they go crashing into the ground. Natsu smashes into the hard pavement, the stranger lands on top of him with his arms wrapped around his body, and Happy is flung over to the side from the sudden impact.

BOOM!

In a blink of an eye, a piece of rebar soars through the spot Natsu was just standing in and impales itself into a building beside them. Lucy stands there gapping at sight. This guy just saved Natsu's life…

 **So that's chapter 2. Sorry it took so long to get this on here. Is it good? Is it bad? Please review and tell me so that I can have advice when I write my future chapters. Thanks everyone!**


	3. Chapter 3

**Wow! Over 1100 views! You guys have made me so happy! Thank you all so much for reading this story. A special thanks to everyone who has favorited and/or followed my story, I love you guys! Please review my story because I want the opinions of everyone, both positive and negative. Thank you!**

 **Hiro Mashima owns Fairy Tail and all corresponding characters. I only own the extra characters and plot.**

Two guys and a blue cat lay on the ground in front of an awestruck girl. She looks back and forth between the jumble of boys to the piece of rebar that is jutting out the side of the building next to the group.

"What the hell man?! Why did you tackle me?!" shouts the pink haired boy lying face down on the ground.

"Sorry 'bout that, it was in the spur of the moment," the strange boy says while scratching his head.

"That really hurt…," moans Happy from the side. After the two boys separate from each other Natsu moves to pick the cat up.

Workers from the worksite across the street are shouting at one another to put out the fire that has started in one of the unfinished buildings. While most are putting out the fire one man runs toward the group. "Are you guys okay?!" he shouts.

The guy who mysteriously rescued Natsu speaks up from the ground, "Yeah, we're good. Is anyone hurt in the building?"

"One guy's got some pretty bad burns but we think he'll live," the worker says.

"Well that's a relief," the guy sighs as he stands up.

The worker squints his eyes at the group. "Is that you Damus? What are you doing out here?" he asks toward the stranger.

"Ohhh, you know…just taking a leisurely stroll," Damus says with a guilty smile. It's pretty obvious to any onlooker that he's lying.

"Does your uncle know you're out here?"

"Uhhhh…"

"I'll take that as a no."

"What's going on?" Lucy asks once she regains her voice.

"Yeah," Natsu agrees while holding Happy.

The talking men both turn to look at the newcomers in town. "Oh, sorry miss. We had a welding tank explosion. It set fire to the building and blew that piece of rebar," the worker points to the piece of metal across from him, "straight into that wall. You guys are lucky it didn't hit one of ya."

"Yeah…lucky," Lucy says as she watches the guy named Damus glance at Natsu.

Some of the workers from the building start yelling at each other and the worker who is talking to the mages turns around and starts barking out orders about cleaning everything up.

The stranger turns toward the mages, "Hey are you guys okay?"

The stranger is a young man no more than eighteen years old. He has short, spiky deep green hair with streaks of lighter green on top that extend over the top of his small ears and down to the middle of the back of his neck. Pair of deep set dark blue eyes, thin dark green eyebrows that match his hair, a straight nose, and lips that slightly curl upward at the corners grace his face. He is slightly above average height with a lean build, large, thin hands, and wide shoulders. The clothes he wears are simple and comfortable: a solid green long-sleeved shirt, a dark grey, sleeveless hoodie jacket with black trim, black cargo pants with an assortment of pockets up and down the legs, a simple brown belt, and grey and green sneakers to finish the ensemble. Overall, he is what most women would call an attractive guy.

"Yeah, we're fine thanks to you," replies Lucy as she steps toward him.

"Thanks for helping us out," Natsu agrees.

"Aye," says Happy.

"No problem, I'm glad to help," he smiles a big smile and turns to walk away.

"Hey, wait a minute!" yells Lucy as she reaches out toward him as if to stop him. He stops and turns his body to face her. "Ummm…we were looking for somewhere to get something to eat, would you like to join us? It's the least we could do to thank you."

His face turns thoughtful for a few seconds before smiling and saying, "Sure, I know this great café not too far away from here."

"Lead the way!" yell Happy and Natsu in unison. The stranger turns and walks down a small street with the trio following shortly behind him. Natsu and Lucy glance at each other and convey a secret message to find out how the guy knew the rebar is going to go flying towards them.

Passing several buildings they finally arrive at a certain little building, no more than one story tall, with a patio out front with tables on it, and light strings hanging across the side of the building. They make their way inside and ask for a table of three. Grabbing some menus the waiter escorts them to their table in the middle of the restaurant. The inside is a single room with small round tables with wooden chairs situated around them and a door that leads to the kitchen in the back. Pictures of families line the cream colored walls and the same strings of lights that are on the outside of the building line the top of the walls near the ceiling. It conveys a cozy and homey atmosphere.

They sit down and look over the menus. When the waiter comes back a few minutes later to give them each a glass of water, everyone says they are ready to order. Natsu orders one of everything from the menu, Lucy orders a salad with a pastry on the side, and the shocked stranger orders a hamburger with extra bacon. Taking their menus the waiter walks back into the kitchen.

"Are you sure you can eat all that?" the green haired man says incredulously.

"Yeah, I'm starving! Hey, what's your name anyway?" Natsu asks.

"Oh, my name is Nostradamus but you can call me Damus," says Damus with a smile. "Thanks for inviting me. I didn't realize how hungry I was until I sat down."

"Well like we said earlier, it's the least we can do since you saved Natsu and all," says Lucy as she leans on the table with her elbows. "My name is Lucy Heartfilia and this is Natsu Dragneel and Happy," she points to the other two occupants of the table.

"I thought you guys looked familiar! You were in the Grand Magic Games. I was routin' for ya."

"Thanks for the support," Lucy smiles. She glanced at Natsu and caught his eye. "We wanted to ask you something, what happened a few minutes ago? How did you know to push Natsu out of the way?"

Damus looks around the café nervously before speaking, "Well I'm not really supposed to tell anybody…but since you guys are mages and all, it shouldn't be _that_ bad if I tell you." He settles back into his chair before continuing. "I have a special ability. I can see the future or at least glimpses of it. Visions as most would call it. That's how I knew what is going to happen back at the work site."

Natsu and Lucy look at each other and then look back at Damus. Neither one of them sense any magical energy resonating from Damus. He shouldn't have any magical capabilities because he has no magical energy. So how can he see the future?

"You saw Natsu getting hit with the rebar?" asks Lucy as she quirks an eyebrow.

"Yep, a few days ago. Pretty bloody actually. Don't want to have another one of those for a long time," he shutters at the memory.

"But how did you know when it is going to happen?" asks Happy from his spot on the table.

"I didn't. I knew that it is in town because I recognized the buildings and street and since that's the only area where buildings are being repaired, I've been hanging around keeping an eye out for ya."

The waiter walks over with the appetizer portion of Natsu's dinner. Damus sweatdrops at the amount of food and looks at Lucy to confirm his suspicions that Natsu over-ordered. Lucy shakes her head as Natsu begins scarfing whole chunks of food down his throat, silently conveying that he is a bottomless pit. Happy is grabbing food while avoiding Natsu's hands in the meantime.

"Anyway Damus, if you can have visions why didn't you just look slightly ahead or before Natsu gets hit and find out the time then? You could have saved a lot of energy that way." Lucy carries on the conversation.

Damus stops looking at Natsu, "Oh, ummm…" he glances back at Natsu who is shoveling mini cheese balls into his mouth, giving him a chipmunk look, and scrunches up his face in disbelief. "I can't control my visions, I get them randomly. So I can't look before or after when the event in the vision occurs to find out extra details."

"Why not?"

"Because it's a Bloodline ability so it's a lot harder to control…" his voice trails off as Natsu and Happy finish with all of their dishes and look at him expectantly.

"Bloodline ability? What's that?" Asks the two in unison, Lucy has curiosity written all over her face as well.

"It's pretty much how it sounds; it's an ability that is passed down from generation to generation of a family. No one outside of the bloodline can use it. Even those within the family can have a hard time controlling the power too."

"Isn't that the same thing as a magical ability though? You know, just one that gets passed down," Natsu shrugs.

Damus shakes his head, "No, it's not the same thing. My ability does not rely on magical energy. My ability relies on my life force. Magic is the union of the spiritual flow of nature and the physical embodiment of an organism and once joined the product is Magic. My body uses the potential energy found in my cells and collects and stores it to use in small bursts of time to produce my certain ability. It never uses any spiritual states and that is what makes it different. Since it relies on energy stored in the cells and DNA, it is able to be passed down from one generation to another."

"I had no idea such a thing existed," says an awestruck Lucy. That explains how he can see the future and not have magical energy.

Natsu looks so confused you could practically see the question mark above his head, "I'm not following ya."

"Me neither," says Happy quietly.

"Okay…how about this? My ability doesn't come from magic, it comes from the same energy someone would use to walk, run, jump, breathe, sleep, and eat. Does that make sense?"

"Oh, that makes sense. Why didn't you say that before?"

"I did…"

The waiter and three other waiters come carrying the rest of the food save for the desert section of Natsu's order. After carefully strategizing the placement of the plates so that each one can fit on the table, the waiter says he'll be right back to refill their drinks. Leaving and returning within a minute he fills each glass. "Is there anything else I can get you?"

"We're fine, thanks," replies a wide eyed Damus, he still can't bring himself to believe that the pink haired mage can eat everything he ordered. The waiter walks back into the kitchen leaving the quartet to their food.

Between bites, Damus continues his explanation. "It's pretty rare now-a-days but the farther back in time you go the more prominent it is. Since the abilities would always die out when the lineage did, it makes sense. Anyway, my personal ability is to see into the future but only a small part of it."

"Carla can do that too," says Happy who is excited to be able to brag about his crush.

"Carla?"

"She's another exceed we know. She has visions of the future too so we kind of understand what you're talking about." says Happy cheerfully.

"Wow, that's cool. Anyway what are you guys doing here?" Damus asks, changing the subject.

"We're here on a job," says Natsu with a mouth full of food.

Lucy pulls the flier out of her bag and hands it over to Damus. He looks it over and a wide grin spreads across his face. "You guys are the training dummies? Oh yeah, this will be the best training ever!" he pumps his fist into the air.

"You know about this?" Lucy asks as she cocks her head at him.

"Sure! Everyone sorta knows about it. I'm one of the trainees who you'll be fighting against. My uncle is the one who is running the show and the one who sent out the request. There is a big festival happening next week where the fighters," he does the finger quotation motion at the word fighters, "fight in an arena we built here. It's all for fun but everyone has been working really hard. Up to this point we've only been able to practice with dummies made of hay and since we are all learning the same moves we wanted to know how good we are compared to other opponents. Everyone agreed that we needed someone from the outside so we hired you guys. It's going to be great! I can't wait until tomorrow! Natsu, I want to be your first opponent!"

At this, the fire dragon slayer ceases his eating and stands up in a relaxed battle stance as his fist becomes covered in flames. "Why do we have to wait until tomorrow? I'm ready right now!"

Literally rising to the challenge, Damus stands up into a similar position and locks eyes with Natsu.

"No! Not here!" yells Lucy as she looks back and forth between the two and waves her hands in front of her body. "Wait until tomorrow!"

"Why? We both want to fight and I'm all fired up!"

"Yeah, let's go!"

Attempting to avoid the possibility of causing property damage, Lucy comes up with an excuse. "We're not officially on the mission yet. If you wait until tomorrow then you guys can duke it out all you want without us getting into trouble."

"Aww but that's no fun," Natsu pouts as he realizes she is right.

"Oh well, it'll just make tomorrow that much better," Damus says trying to find the silver lining in the situation.

"Yeah you're right! Tomorrow we'll have a battle royale!" Natsu grins as he fist pumps the air.

Lucy exhales the breath she didn't know she is holding and slumps back into her chair. _That was a close one._

Both boys sit back down and continue eating. The rest of the evening is filled with chat about Fairy Tail or the Grand Magic Games until the group leaves the restaurant and arrives to the town's hotel. Damus offered to walk them there and told them where to go in the morning. They have to meet up with Damus' uncle in the arena, which is located in the giant opening in the cliff side. After saying their goodbyes, Natsu, Lucy, and Happy get a single room with two queen sized beds on the third floor.

Making their way up the stairs Natsu suddenly says, "You know…Damus is a good guy. I like him."

"Aye, sir." Happy seconds.

"Yeah, he seems like a nice guy. I hope all of the other fighters are as nice as him." agrees Lucy.

Both satisfied with each other's opinions they go into their room. It's a simple room: with two beds, a bedside table in between them, a window on the opposite wall from the door, a table with two chairs around it under the window, and a bathroom behind a wall to the right of the door.

Natsu sheds his jacket and flops onto the bed closest to the window with Happy laying across his body; within three minutes two snores could be heard from that side of the room. Lucy grabs her blue, starry long-sleeved pajama top and pajama pants and walks into the bathroom to change. She also brushes her hair, teeth, and flosses before she walks out of the bathroom to get into her bed. She sets an alarm on the lacrima clock before she falls asleep several minutes later.

* * *

Loud beeping wakes up the three occupants of the hotel room in the morning. Each one stretches before climbing out of bed. They still have an hour before they have to meet up with their contact. Deciding some quick breakfast is in order, they both get dressed and gather their things before leaving the room. Checking out of the hotel, they head down the road outside of the building.

Not too far away is a bakery with doughnuts, turnovers, éclairs, pies, cakes, and tarts displayed in the window. Entering, they walk up to the counter and order their food; Lucy orders two croissants and a chocolate tart and Natsu orders a whole apple and cinnamon strudel and six raspberry filled doughnuts. Happy doesn't order anything because they have no pastries that are fish flavored or are filled with fish. Grabbing their orders they walk out of the shop and begin to eat their breakfasts as they walk.

"Lucy sure is going to get fat," Happy snickers to his self as they walk toward their destination.

"Shut it you stupid cat!" Lucy glares at Happy.

"Ah, Lucy's scary!" he exclaims jokingly.

"Maybe you should eat less Luce. You are looking a little chunkier around the middle," Natsu says absentmindedly.

Her jaw drops in disbelief. "There is nothing wrong with my figure! You're both just idiots!" She angrily stomps ahead of them, not wanting to look at either of her rude partners. Natsu and Happy look at one another and grin before quickening their pace to catch up to their blonde friend.

After walking through the town for half an hour, they walk up the hill and into the mouth of the man-made cavern. A long stone hallway greets them as it leads deeper into the mountain. Vertical pillars run down the hallway no more than three feet from one another. Between each pillar there is a lit torch and a string of lights on the ceiling above. Grunts and moans echo throughout the hall as the trio walk toward their destination.

At the end of the hall is a gigantic circular room that encompasses an unfinished arena. The simple arena is tall, circular, and made of the same stone as the buildings outside. Scaffolding could be seen throughout the top as stone is being laid down. Along the sides is the event seating and in the center is a circular dirt fighting area. A large doorway in the middle of the wall allows visitors to enter the seating area. Extremely tall pillars just like the ones around the outside of the cave, except made from a dark cut of stone, frames the doorway to the cavern and lines the outer wall. Torches and big lights light up everything in the room.

Upon arriving to the center of the arena, the trio finds a pair of men sparring and a larger group sitting off to the side watching. The men range from all sizes and appearances: tall, short, skinny, lean, fat, dark hair, light hair, tan, pale, etc. Damus immediately spots them and waves in greeting as he calls out to the referee of the match and begins to walks toward them with the older man.

"Hey! Did you guys have any trouble finding the place?" asks Damus as he reaches them.

"Uh, no. It is pretty obvious were we had to go," deadpans Lucy.

"Oh, right sorry," Damus scratches his head in embarrassment.

The older man clears his throat while looking at Damus. "Oh! Uncle Quincy this is Natsu, Lucy and their exceed Happy. Natsu, Lucy, and Happy this is my Uncle Quincy. He's the one who made the request," Damus gestures with hand toward his uncle. Quincy is a middle aged man of average height, tan skin, and thick muscles. He shares Damus' green hair and blue eyes and wears a gray sleeveless tank top, brown cargo pants, and black boots.

"It's a pleasure to make your acquaintance," Quincy says politely. "My nephew told me about what happened last night. I am glad to hear that no one got hurt."

"It's nice to meet you too and thank you for your concern." replies Lucy.

"Well then, shall we get down to business? The sooner we start the more practice we'll get," Quincy says as he puts his hand on his hip.

"Sure. Damus has already given us some of the details. He was telling us that this town is throwing a festival in a week and there will be fighting as a part of the festival and you want some people from the outside to help your fighters practice, right?" inquires Lucy.

"Correct. It's pretty simple really. Over the next three days all of the fighters spar with you guys to test and improve their performance. Both defensively and offensively. A word of caution, no one knows magic here so don't go too hard on them. You can use magic just don't overdo it. They want to impress their families and friends so I wanted to give them every opportunity, within reason, to learn."

"The flier says you would take care of our food and housing," Natsu chirps in.

"Yep, you'll eat here with everyone else during the day while we train and in the evening you'll eat and stay in my house."

"Cool!" Natsu says enthusiastically.

"Well, that's all there is to it. You three ready to get to work?" Quincy asks.

"Aye, sir!" the two mages and the exceed respond simultaneously.

"Remember our agreement Natsu, I get the first match," Damus says getting into a battle stance.

"Oh, I remember all right," Natsu retorts as his fists light on fire.

"Hold on, hold on, at least let me introduce you to the other fighters first," Quincy quickly adds before any fighting starts.

Damus huffs in annoyance and frowns at being denied a second time of sparring with Natsu. The group walks over and Quincy tells everyone else in the arena about who the mages are and the plan for the next three days. Everyone welcomes Natsu, Lucy, and Happy and they are eager to begin.

"Now can we fight?" Damus asks impatiently.

"Go ahead," says Quincy gesturing towards the dirt area.

"All right, I'm all fired up!" Natsu yells as he runs to the center of the arena.

"Yeah, let's go!" Damus agrees as he joins Natsu.

Everyone moves to sit on one of the stands with Lucy holding Happy in her lap at the front.

"This is not going to end well," Lucy whispers to Happy.

"No, Damus has no hope of beating Natsu," Happy boasts about his best friend.

"Alright the rules are simple: there will be no killing, there's no time limit, and if I call off the fight both fighters must stop. Are we clear?" Quincy has moved between the two boys and begins to referee again.

"Got it," both reply at once.

"Begin."

Both boys lower into battle stances, their left foot slightly behind their right, and stare down each other as they wait to see who will make the first move. Leaping at his opponent, Natsu throws a right hook towards Damus. Damus dodges to the left and jabs Natsu in the cheek. Quickly recovering Natsu uppercuts Damus in the jaw and roundhouse kicks him in the ribs. Pushed to the side, Damus recovers by doing two back flips to get some distance between him and his opponent. After a few seconds both lunge at one another and flurry of punches and kicks are seen for the next few minutes. When they break apart both are seen with minor bruises and cuts and neither is breathing heavy. In fact, they look like they're having fun.

"You're really are as good as they say you are," Damus compliments Natsu.

"You're not half bad yourself," Natsu says with a grin, "Seems like I'm going to have to use magic to defeat ya."

He lights his right fist on fire and uses his signature move, "Fire Dragon's Iron Fist!" Damus ducks the incoming blow and elbows Natsu in the gut before rolling out from under him and landing on his feet. Just as Damus looks up, "Fire Dragon's Roar" is heard and a huge stream of fire comes hurdling at him. Raising both arms in front of himself as a defense against the flames, both of his sleeves are caught on fire. Noticing his burning clothes his eyes bug out as he frantically waves his arms around in a sad attempt to extinguish the flames. The flailing only makes the flames spread and all of the onlookers sweatdrop at his stupidity. Quincy facepalms in shame. Finally figuring out that he needs to get rid of the cloth, he pulls his jacket and shirt off, leaving him shirtless, and watches as his shirt burns away into ash.

"I knew I shouldn't have worn my favorite shirt today…" Damus says slumping his shoulders.

"Oops, sorry 'bout that," Natsu says as he shows a guilty smile and scratches the back of his head.

After sulking for a few more seconds Damus turns back toward his opponent with a small smile. "Don't worry about it I'll just get another one. Let's keep going."

"Alright!"

Natsu drops back into his fighting position while Damus continues to stand with his back and legs straight.

"He's doing really well," Happy says to no one in particular.

"Yeah, I never would have guessed he would be able to keep up with Natsu this much," a surprised Lucy agrees.

Everyone else in the group has grins along their faces and is murmuring phrases such as "Damus sure is strong but that pink haired kid is no push over either," or "This is a really good fight."

"Alright, since you're using magic then I guess that means I need to even the playing field," Damus finally speaks.

"Huh?" Natsu huffs.

"Damus, NO! We've talked about this!" Quincy yells at his nephew from the sidelines with his hands clenched.

"Aww, come on Uncle, just one Aeon? He's a mage; he's used to seeing all sorts of magic." Damus whines to his uncle.

"No!"

"The whole point of bring them here is to help us improve, right? Well, how can I improve if I can't give it my all?"

"…"

"…"

"Fine, ONE aeon and that's all," Quincy holds up one finger as he sighs heavily.

Damus smiles at the older green-haired man before turning back to Natsu with a serious expression. He holds out his hand with his palm facing towards Natsu. Bright silver light condenses in front of his hand and forms a staff. The staff is as tall as Damus. The rod part of the staff has a curving effect carved into it and between each grove are the colors of the rainbow until it reaches a smooth gray piece that slightly curves away from the rod for the holder to grab onto. A piece of white rod extends from this gray piece upward and juts outward at the top to look like claws. Inside of the claws is a floating, rainbow-colored, crystal-like orb. Circling around the orb and claws is a thin white metal with intricate swirling designs etched into it and this attaches to the white part of the rod.

He holds the staff out in front of him with his elbows slightly bent and his face embodies a look of pure concentration. The staff begins to spin in a circle and a flame sprouts where the top of the rod used to be. As the rod spins the first sprouts of fire slowly moves toward the center of the staff while the top continues to produce more fire as it travels its way around the circle. Once it completes a full circle twice, the flame has gathered in the center of the rod and drops down to the ground beneath him. It expands outward in four opposing directions forming a large 'x' on the ground and a fire circle between the four tips. A magic circle appears briefly before a giant monster crashes upward through the ground and grabs Damus before landing harshly on the floor and safely lowering Damus back to the ground in front of him.

The monster stands on four legs with its front two legs being bigger than the back. Long bluish-black claws extend from its massive hands and feet. Dark brown skin covers the thick corded muscle that encompasses its body. Its face has features of an angry wolf: a long snout, sharp teeth, and white eyes. Flowing orange-red hair grows from its chin, jaw, the top of its head down its spine, and from the top of its knees around its legs. Two _massive_ bluish-black horns grow from the top of its head and curves around its shoulders to the center of its back and two more grow to frame the side of its face. A necklace can be seen around its neck with three tufts of red feathers hanging from the piece of jewelry and bracelets on both wrists with feathers that look like the beast's hair are also worn. He lets out a loud roar, announcing his arrival.

Natsu is rooted to his spot staring in awe at the beast before him. Lucy and Happy gape at Damus. They thought he didn't have any magical energy. How can he summon some kind of creature? They weren't the only ones feeling stunned. The group of men behind Lucy is in a state of pure shock; each one has snow white skin, bulging eyeballs, and mouths hanging so open anyone would think their jaws are broken.

"Everyone this is Ifrit. He is what is known as an Aeon and he'll be helping me for the rest of the battle," Damus announces proudly. Quincy is looking back and forth nervously between the two contestants.

Snapping out of his reverie, Natsu prepares for battle. "So you are a mage! I'm all fired up now!"

Breathing a large amount of air into his lungs he prepares his roar again. "Fire Dragon's Roar!" he shouts as a similar wave of fire as the one earlier aims for Damus and Ifrit. At the last second Ifrit jumps in front of Damus and takes the full impact of the attack. After the attack, Ifrit is still standing with no scorch marks or scratches on him.

"But how?" Natsu wonders out loud.

"Ifrit has an immense resistance to fire because he's a fire spirit. You're attacks will have little to no effect on him." Damus boasts.

A flash of worry crosses Natsu's face before he turns serious. "Then that just means that I can go all out. Get ready!"

With that says, Natsu springs toward the Aeon. "Fire Dragon's Claw!" he yells as he covers his foot in fire and kicks at the beast. Ifrit stops the kick with his forearm and swings his arm to fling Natsu toward one of the cave walls. Natsu does a flip to land on his feet and pushes back against the wall to aim for Ifrit once more. His fist lights on fire as Ifrit jumps to meet him in midair. Ifrit claws at Natsu but he manages to push himself over the claw at the last second and punches the Aeon in the shoulder. Damus, who is riding on Ifrit's back, quickly propels himself over Ifrit and slams his foot into Natsu's face sending him crashing into the ground. They land on the ground next to Natsu, completely unfazed by Natsu's attack. Natsu stands up and begins attacking once more. He tries to land a crucial blow on the either one of them. The problem is every time he focuses on Ifrit, Damus surprises him and vice-versa. After the fifth time of trying to find the beast or Damus' weak spot and getting slammed into the wall, he moves to execute one of his most powerful moves. His arms become doused in flames and long torrents are become generated. Swinging his body around the flames spiral toward Damus and his Aeon.

Damus, feeling the energy gathering around Natsu, straightens up and declares, "All right Ifrit let's show him your special move!" Ifrit gathers a tremendous amount of energy around his body then stands on his back legs as he accumulates the energy into his hands and sends two balls of magma fire toward Natsu.

Both attacks hit each other halfway and erupt into a fiery explosion. All of the bystanders cover their faces from the heat and dust that is produced from the impact. After a minute, the dust settles and all that is remains of the battlefield is two bruised, scratched, and exhausted boys and a panting Aeon. The ground is scorched black and cracked while the walls of both the arena and the cavern had indentions and splits as well.

"STOP! NO MORE! IF YOU TWO FIGHT ANYMORE THERE WON'T BE AN ARENA TO FIGHT IN! THIS IS WHY I SAID TO _NOT_ OVERDO IT!" Quincy screamed at the top of his lungs at the two fighters. His face is completely red from the heat, dust, and anger bubbling inside of him.

"But…" Damus and Natsu weakly argue.

"NO BUTS! I'M CALLING OFF THE MATCH!" He waves his hand out to the side.

"Okay…" they both say dejectedly as they hang their heads.

Damus lifts his head and walks up to Ifrit and pats him on the nose, "Thanks for everything Ifrit, you did great buddy. Go get some rest, you deserve it."

Ifrit nods and a red magic circle appears beneath him and he sinks into the earth, leaving Damus alone. Damus looks at the staff in his hand and it fades out of existence a few seconds later.

He turns toward Natsu and smiles as he walks up to him, "That is an awesome match!"

Natsu can only return the enthusiasm, "Yeah, let's do it again sometime! If I knew how strong you were I wouldn't have gone easy on ya." Natsu laughs. Damus can't help but join in with his laughter.

Men with hard hats and overalls run into the arena and start asking what all the noise was. Quincy shoots Damus a glare before he walks over to the men and explains that they were just have some sparring matches and tells them they will need to fix the damages to the cavern.

Pulling herself and Happy away from the terrified crowd of men who find some comfort in hugging each other, Lucy walks up to the pair with Happy still in her arms. She has so many questions to ask him. Both she and Happy stare wide-eyed at them. "What is that?" she asks softly.

Natsu and Damus turn to look at her, "What is what?" they ask.

"…Everything I guess."

Natsu then looks at Damus excitedly, "Yeah what was that thing exactly?"

Damus frowns at Natsu. " _He's_ not a thing! _His_ name is Ifrit and _he's_ an Aeon," he says with clear agitation in his voice. Lucy gives a small smile at his defense of his spirit.

Natsu holds his hands in front of his face in surrender, "Okay, sorry. What is _he_ exactly?"

Damus opens his mouth to explain but is stopped by the group of fighters that have unraveled themselves from one another and are approaching him. Questions are shouted at him from all different directions: "What the hell is that?" "Where did you learn that?" "Can you teach me?" "Why didn't you ever tell us?" "How long have you been able to do that?"

Before he could answer any questions, Quincy steps in and silences the whole lot. "Alright everyone calm down. I've talked to the work crew and they'll start fixing everything up when we go to lunch and they say everything will be fixed by next week. Damus and Natsu go get bandaged up, Damus knows where to go so just follow him Natsu. As for everyone else we still have Lucy here to help you train."

Every member looks at Lucy worried that she expects the same kind of power out of them. She shakes her head, "Don't worry, I don't expect anything. I'm just going to call out my spirits and have you spar with them."

"Yo-you m-me-mean you-you're a-a s-s-sum-summoner t-too?" one of the fighters sputters out.

"Well…yeah, kinda." Lucy says hesitantly.

At the word 'yeah' they huddle together in fear that she will summon the same monster Damus summoned.

"Don't worry guys she won't summon the guy I did," Damus says to try to console the group. It doesn't work in the least.

"Yeah, here I'll show you," she pulls out a golden key with a pair of twin faces on the base, a harp on either side at the tip and a small blue zodiac insignia. Damus leans forward in anticipation.

"Open Gate of The Twins, Gemini!" Lucy yells as she holds the key out in front of her. The sound of a bell rings and a flash of bright light shines from the end of the key. Once the light fades two small blue creatures are floating where the light was previously. Each twin has two round black eyes with white pupils, two short antennae, a pair of shorts, and a belt across their chest. The one on the left is known as Gemi and the one on the right is called Mini. Gemi has a happy face, orange pants and her belt goes over her right shoulder while Mini has a sad face, black pants, and his belt goes over his left shoulder. "Piri, Piri," they say as they come out.

"Okay Gemini, transform into one of them," Lucy says as she points to the group of quivering men. Gemini looks at the crowd and decides on a slim, balding man in front. A puff of smoke appears and suddenly a copy of the man stands before the crowd. The Gemini version waves hello and smiles. "Wow…" Damus and the group of fighters say.

"Pretty cool, huh?" Lucy says, "Gemini can replicate someone's appearance and abilities so if you are to fight them, it would be like fighting yourself. No extreme fighting. Wanna try?"

The real version of the man looks at the others before nodding his head and walks in front of the look-a-like.

"Alright let's resume training. Damus and Natsu, I told you two to go get bandaged up," Quincy orders the duo.

"Right, come on Natsu this way," Damus gestures with his hand as he walks toward a small door off to the right. Natsu follows suit after he tells Happy to stay with Lucy.

The group of men has taken their seat on stands once more and watches the match of their friend. Lucy and Happy stand off to the side, ready to jump into the match if the need arises. Simple punches and kicks are thrown between both participants for ten minutes before the man calls off the match. Gemini pops back into their natural state and calls out "Piri, Piri."

"Alright, who's next?" Lucy asks pleasantly. Two more men follow the same routine before Natsu and Damus return.

Natsu has bandages on his head and chest and a patch across his cheek. Damus has bandages covering his arms and around his chest and patches across his shoulders. They talk happily about their battle as they walk towards Lucy and stand next to her. After a few minutes Quincy calls for lunch time.

A look of pure glee crosses Natsu's face at the word 'lunch' and Damus sweatdrops at his giddiness. A man from the outside has rolled six carts full of sandwiches, chips, and drinks next to Quincy. Lucy asks Gemini if they want to stay for lunch but they decline and she dismisses them back into the Spirit World. Everyone begins to gather around the food when Quincy speaks.

"Natsu, Damus told me how much you eat so I ordered two carts for you," he points to the two back ones.

"Thanks! Hey do you have any fire?" Natsu asked excitedly.

"Fire?" Quincy asks.

"He means torches," Lucy corrects her teammate.

"Why would he need torches? The food is already cooked," Damus tilts his head in confusion at Lucy.

"He wants to eat the fire once the torches are lit," Lucy replies.

"Yeah," Natsu grins.

All of the men, including Damus, deadpan at Natsu. "Are you serious?" they ask in unison.

"Yep!"

"Uhhhh…sure, give me a minute," Quincy mutters out and walks away toward the workers who had just arrived.

"Well let's eat," Damus says suddenly as he claps his hands together. Coming out of their stupor, everyone grabs some sandwiches, chips, and a couple of drinks and sits down on the arena seating. Lucy grabs a turkey sandwich, a bag of chips, and a bottle of water. Happy chooses three tuna sandwiches and a bottle of water. Damus takes a roast beef sandwich and a ham sandwich, a couple of bags of chips, and a couple of sodas. Natsu grabs everything within his reach from his two carts. Natsu sits with Lucy on his left and Damus on his right and Happy sits on Lucy's other side. As everyone begins eating, Quincy walks over with two lit torches and hands them over to Natsu. Natsu happily takes them and begins to take bites out of the fire. Everyone, with the exception of Lucy and Happy, stare open mouthed at Natsu's display and food falls out of some of their mouths. Lucy clears her throat at the men. Looking away from Natsu everyone quickly resumes eating.

"Natsu you are to take it easy for the rest of the day, same goes for you Damus." Quincy states as he plops down beside his nephew.

"What?!" both exclaim.

Quincy holds up his hand to silence them, "I will not let anyone fight who seems seriously injured. This is not a life or death event so there is no need to push ourselves so hard."

"I haven't pushed too hard! Come on let me fight," "I'm fine! I'm not tired at all," Damus and Natsu protest their arguments over each other.

"You can fight tomorrow but only if you recover today. No arguments," Quincy says sternly. Both Natsu and Damus reluctantly agree to Quincy's terms.

After everyone finishes their lunch they continue with the regime Lucy has set before. She calls out Gemini and each member of the group takes their turn against them. Natsu and Damus sit off to the side talking about a variety of topics as they heal from their fight.

Just as Quincy had says earlier, no one knows magic so it is just straight up fighting. Most of the group only knows basic moves and maneuvers so Gemini doesn't get too tired but a few members know some advanced techniques and Gemini has to exert some force in order to win. Lucy thinks that if she can find out the degree of everyone's capabilities today then she can make an accurate decision on whom she can call out tomorrow. The day passes and when the last member's match is finished Quincy walks into the middle of the arena.

"That's all for today. Everyone go home and get some rest, we'll continue tomorrow." Quincy says towards the group of men. They all stand up, stretch, and begin talking about the day's events while walking out of the cavern.

"Come on, we need our rest too," Quincy waves his hand toward the mages for them to follow down the path and out of the cave. Construction workers are cleaning and building as the small group leaves the mountain side.

With talk of the day's events occupying their time as they walk to Quincy's house, the small group arrives to one of the houses on the hillside. Lucy looks up at the tall house and recognizes it from the previous night when they exited the train station.

It is one of the bigger houses that are built into the mountainside. It is made out of stone, just like the other ones, but it is two stories tall and has a much wider base. The first story lies flat on the ground and has two big windows on either side with a door in the middle of the house. In between the two stories is a wood beam that goes around the house. The second story has three smaller glass windows, likely leading to some bedrooms, and connects to the roof which juts out to shade the second story. From the side of the house one can see how the mountain covers the back side of the house. A small dirt path winds toward the door from the main road.

Walking up to the door Quincy pulls out a key ring from his back pocket and fiddles with the key before unlocking the door. Stepping aside he lets the youngsters in. Closing the door, he throws his keys on the table beside the door, "Make yourselves at home."

"Thank you," Lucy says as she examines the interior. To the left is the a living room with two couches facing each other, a coffee table in-between them, a closed double door, and a stone fireplace on the far side of the room. Smaller tables, mirrors, and pictures are littered along the wall. To the right is the dining room which holds a long wooden table with eight wooden chairs around it, a china cabinet, a small table with a vase on it, and a sliding double door that opens to the kitchen. Next to the door on the right is the staircase that leads up to the second floor. In the back of the house are the kitchen and another sitting area. The kitchen has cabinets on the two back walls, a countertop, a refrigerator, an oven, a sink, a tall square table, and four matching chairs. The other sitting area looks more used and comfortable. It has a couch, two armchairs, a table, and side tables on either side of the couch.

"So, who's hungry?" Quincy asks as he opens the cabinets in the kitchen. Three me's and an aye sound behind him. Pulling out some spaghetti, left-over marinara sauce, and ground beef, he starts to cook spaghetti and meatballs. "It'll be ready in a little bit."

The mages sit down on the couches and Damus sits in one of the armchairs while they wait for the food to cook.

"So Damus I've got some questions I wanted to ask you," Lucy says.

"Okay, shoot," Damus says as he sits back against the couch.

"First, how did you summon that," Lucy puts a finger to her chin in thought, "Aeon? Right? I thought you said you don't have any magical abilities."

"I don't," Damus replies, "it's another Bloodline ability I have."

"Wait, you have two Bloodline abilities? So each of your parents has a Bloodline ability?"

Sadness fills Damus' face as he looks down at his lap. "Had," he says quietly.

"Oh…I'm so sorry Damus. I didn't mean…," Lucy stammers out.

"No, it's okay," Damus says as he looks back at Lucy, "they passed away five years ago. It's just me and my uncle now. Anyhow, yeah, my abilities come from the Bloodline abilities that were passed down to me. My dad had the Foresight ability and my mom had the Summoning ability. Only my mom's ability can be controlled so she trained me since I was young."

"Why? You said that you can't control Bloodline abilities," Natsu questions from his seat besides Lucy. Lucy and Happy nod their heads in agreement.

Damus leans forward as he looks at Natsu, "Technically, only some of them can't be controlled while others can. On one hand, my foresight ability can't be controlled and happens randomly. On the other hand, my summoning ability can be controlled and only happens under my command. But like I said yesterday, it can be very difficult to control."

"How does it work?" Happy questioned.

"Well, it's a kinda complicated so I'll give the not-so-complicated/dumbed-down version. First off, an Aeon is a dream that has been given life. There are these temples around the world and inside each one is a statue of the builder of that temple. Their sleeping soul is sealed inside of the statue and this soul dreams up the idea of a monster, beast, or person. The temple produces energy and creates a manifestation of that dream, an Aeon. Only a person with the Summoning trait can 'feel' the soul and can talk to them. The soul and the Summoner make a contract with one another and the summoner can call the soul for help. Due to not being able to leave the temple, the soul sends the Aeon in its place." Damus looks at each mage. They look like they understand.

"I guess that kinda makes sense," Natsu spoke up as he crossed his arms over his chest.

"I suppose…" Happy says.

Lucy stares at her two partners with great exasperation. _They have no idea what he's talking about,_ she thinks to herself. "So how many Aeons do you have contracts with?"

"Five." Damus says proudly with a wide smile on his face.

"Are any of them fish?!" Happy says as he jumps up in excitement.

Damus sweatdrops, "Uhhhh…no."

"Awww," Happy sighs unhappily as he sinks back into the couch cushions.

"What are their names?" Lucy adds.

Holding up one finger he begins to say the names, raising a new finger with each name, "Valefor, Ixion, Shiva, Yojimbo, and of course, Ifrit."

"Can we see them?"

"Not tonight, Lucy already summoned an Aeon for the day," Damus says simply. He looks at her to see her eyebrows scrunched together and her lips set in a straight line. "Oh! I can only summon one Aeon a day. Sorry, I forgot to mention that."

"Why?"

He shrugs his shoulders, "It's in the contract."

A delicious smell drifts into the room from the kitchen and a minute later they hear Quincy yelling that the food's done. Getting up and walking into the kitchen they sit down at the table. Happy sits on the table between Natsu and Lucy as Quincy places a plate full of spaghetti and meatballs in front of each of them.

"Thank you!" says the mages, cat, and Damus as they dig into their food. Quincy grabs his plate and sits down next to his nephew.

Looking up from her plate, Lucy catches Quincy's eye and a question pops into her head. "Excuse me Quincy, Damus told us that both sides of his family have a Bloodline trait. Do you have one?"

Tossing a quick frown in Damus' direction, Quincy answers. "Yes, I do. I have the Foresight ability. Damus' father was my little brother."

"Do you have the visions randomly as well?" asks a prodding Lucy.

"Yes."

"You don't like to talk about it very much, do you?" Happy notices.

"We usually don't talk to strangers about our abilities. Please don't misunderstand," he places his hand on Damus' shoulder, "we are proud of our heritage but most people do not understand us and our abilities."

Damus grimaces at his uncle before looking back at his plate. Quincy takes his hand off of his nephew's shoulder and changes the topic. "So how do you like Gillamoor?"

Sensing how touchy the previous subject was, none of the three Fairy Tail mages bring it back up. They continue dinner with talk of the city, the fighters, and the upcoming festival. After dinner, the dishes are washed and cleaned before everyone goes to bed. Following Quincy and Damus upstairs the Fairy Tail members were lead to two medium sized rooms on the right side of the house.

In each of them a queen sized bed is situated in the middle of the back wall, a side table with a lamp, a dresser, an armoire, and bookshelves were pushed against the wall. It is very obvious that these were used as guest bedrooms. The bathroom is across the hall. Damus' room is down the hall on the left side of the house and Quincy's room is even further down at the end of the hall.

"If you need anything just come and wake me or Damus up," Quincy points to his and Damus' bedrooms. "Do you guys need anything else?"

"Oh no, we're fine," Lucy thanks him.

"Well then have a good night, see you guys in the morning," he says as he makes his way down the hall.

"Guess I better get some sleep too. Good night guys," Damus waves as he goes toward his room.

"Night," everyone else says. They turn to one another and bid the other goodnight before going into their rooms and preparing for bed. Natsu plays with Happy on their bed before turning in for the night. Lucy does her daily nightly routine before lying in bed and reading a few pages of her book. After reading for a little while she turns off her lamp and tucks herself into bed.

 **Damus' ability is not of my own creation. He is able to use the Summoning ability from the Final Fantasy series. In this section I used the Aeon Ifrit from Final Fantasy X, if my description is not clear then you can look at this page for a better reference:**

 **wiki/Ifrit#Final_Fantasy_X**

 **All copyrights go to the creators of Final Fantasy for their character.**

 **That is my first big fight scene and I'm not sure if it is satisfactory or not so please review and tell me how I did, thanks!**


	4. Chapter 4

**To Blessed Unrest: I know! I love Ifrit so much and he just seemed like such a good opponent for Natsu so I couldn't resist myself.**

 **Thank you to everyone who has favorited and followed me! I really appreciate you guys and gals! I want to give a particular thank you to kurahieiritr JIO for your awesome review. When I read it I was so happy that I was giddy for the rest of the day. True story. Anyway, thanks for reading and I hope you like the new chapter.**

 **Hiro Mashima owns Fairy Tail and all corresponding characters. Lucy only own the extra characters and plot.**

Knocking followed by Quincy's voice is heard at Lucy's door in the morning. "Wake up! Time for breakfast!"

"Okay, be right down." Lucy groggily calls out from underneath her covers. _I need a bath first though._ Sitting up in bed Lucy rubs the sleep out of her eyes before stretching her arms above her head. Tossing back the covers Lucy steps onto the cold floor and moves to grab her clothes and bathing essentials. Lucy steps out into the hallway to find the door to the bathroom closed and steam pouring out from underneath.

"Natsu! Save some of the hot water for me you idiot!" Lucy yells as she bangs on the door.

"One sec," Natsu calls out.

Huffing, Lucy crosses her arms and taps her foot on the ground impatiently in the middle of the hallway. Not a minute later, Natsu steps out of the bathroom completely nude with his hands on his hips and his scarf wrapped around his head like a thick headband. Happy stands beside him with a small towel wrapped around his head like a turban and nothing else.

"Whatcha say Luce?" Natsu asks nonchalantly.

Her eyes go wide and a deep blush spreads across her cheeks as Lucy backs into her door, "Ahhh! W-Why are you naked?!"

"Duh, I was taking a bath. Is that what you wanted?"

Lucy suddenly finds the floor very interesting, "I said t-to leave some hot water for me."

"Oh, well we're done so you can use the rest of it," he says with a big smile on his face.

"O-okay th-thanks," Lucy rushes past them into the bathroom and slams the door in their faces.

Resting against the door Lucy inhales several deep breathes to calm myself down. Her heart is pounding in her chest. Sure she has seen the guy shirtless countless amounts of times. Hell the guy wore an open vest when she first met him but she has seldom seen that much of him. Seeing him like that is too much for her to handle. Especially this early in the morning.

Shaking her head to rid the thoughts of the previous encounter out of her brain, Lucy walks forward to drain the still full bathtub. As the water drains, Lucy strips and places her items to the side. Once it's empty Lucy turns the knob and lets water fill the tub once more. Testing the water, it is lukewarm at best. _Why did the fire breather have to use up all of the hot water?! The guy could have used the cold water and just heated that up for the love of God!_ Lucy whines to herself.

"Natsu! You used up all of the hot water you idiot!" Lucy yells out the door.

"Sorry. Do you want me to come heat it up for you?" he calls back.

Gasping, Lucy unconsciously covers her breasts with her arms. "NO! Don't come in here while I'm bathing!" Lucy stares at the door as if it will open and the pink haired moron will enter at any moment.

"Okay, suit yourself." Lucy hears his footsteps as he walks back into his room.

Letting out a sigh of relief, Lucy looks at the water only to frown. _It's getting colder by the second, I better hurry up._ Dipping herself into the water, Lucy quickly washes her hair and body. Pulling the stopper once more Lucy steps out, dries herself, and gets dressed. Opening the door to her room, Lucy throws her towel on her bed and heads downstairs to get something to eat.

Natsu, Happy, Damus and Quincy have finished half of their breakfast by the time Lucy reaches the table. "I already made you a plate, it's in the oven. I didn't want it to get cold." Quincy gestures to the oven.

"Thank you," Lucy says as she pulls her plate out of the warm oven and places it on the table.

Everyone finishes eating and puts their plates into the sink. "Just leave them, we gotta get to the arena." Quincy says. Making their way out the front door, Quincy locks the door before taking the lead and starting toward the giant mouth in the mountain.

While walking, Damus walks up to Lucy's side and leans down to whisper in her ear. "Are you and Natsu dating?"

Jerking herself away from Damus she practically hisses at him, "No! Why would you think that?!"

Holding his hands in front of himself he replies, "It just seemed that way from how you guys were acting this morning, that's all."

"This morning?"

"Yeah, you know, when he walked out of the bathroom. I figured if he was okay with you seeing him naked then you must have seen him before."

"You saw that?!"

"I was coming out of my room when it happened. Then when he said he would warm the water up for you while you were in there I was almost positive you were dating."

"Well we're not. He just has no sense of decency and privacy."

"Okay, okay, I believe ya. You guys are just really close I guess."

Natsu walks up, having heard the whole conversation, and throws his arm around Lucy's shoulder. "Yep, we're partners!"

Natsu flies up and behind a paw purrs, "They liiiiiiiiiike each other."

"Shut it you stupid cat!" Lucy swats at Happy, who easily avoids her attempt at hurting him. "Why do you ask anyway?" she asks as she turns back to Damus.

"I was just going to say that if you guys wanted to share a room you can. It won't bother me or my uncle."

Lucy's cheeks flush a deep red and she pushes Natsu's away from her in a blink of an eye, "No! We DON'T do...that _._ " She whispers the last word in an attempt to not picture her and Natsu in bed together.

Happy tries to hold in his laughter behind his paws but utterly fails.

"Sorry, sorry, I was just trying to help," Damus waves his hands in front of his face.

"Well, stop. It's embarrassing."

Quincy joins the conversation, "Damus is always trying to help; he just can't stop himself. Even if he makes matters worse. "

"At least I try to help…" Damus mutters under his breath.

"Sometimes you should leave things alone and let them play out naturally."

"Yeah, the key word being _sometimes_. Not all the time."

"What are you guys talking about?" Happy interrupts.

Looking over his shoulder at Happy, Quincy grows serious, "Since we see the future we also hold the responsibility of what to do with the knowledge it brings. If we see something, we can choose to try to prevent it, change it, or let it occur. Sometimes we can change the future for the better, like when Damus saved you two nights ago Natsu. Other times we _make_ the event happen and, more often than not, we make the situation worse. That's why if we leave time to play out naturally, at least we didn't cause or worsen the situation." At his uncle's last sentence Damus rolls his eyes.

"How can you make things worse?" a genuinely interested Lucy asks.

"Every action has a Butterfly Effect. Every event has many events that follow it. When we change that event, the future and the consequences of that future are also changed. In essence, we create a new Butterfly Effect and sometimes that change is worse than what was originally going to happen."

"Uhhhh, can you explain that in English?" Natsu drawls out.

"For example, Damus saw that you were going to die Natsu. Think about everything that would have happened if you did get hit. Lucy would have to call your guild, I would have to get someone else for the job, someone would have to take your body back, your friends would hold a funeral, and everyone would be sad. And that's only for the first few days. The further you look ahead the more complicated it gets.

"Now think about what has happened since he's saved your life. You went to dinner, befriended Damus, slept, fought, ate, slept, and are now walking back to fight some more. See the difference between the two? Because Damus changed the event he also changed the actions that would follow it. Now, I'm not saying that he made the wrong decision, not at all! I'm just using you as an example."

"Another example would be how you foresee a waiter spilling food on you and you jump out of your chair just in time but then you shove a little old lady into the fish pond…" Damus mumbles as he slumps his shoulders in depression. Lucy and Happy sweatdrop at his sudden mood change.

"Or that."

"How do you know which one to prevent and which one not to prevent?" Natsu asks.

"We don't. That's why we should leave each one alone," Quincy says firmly.

"No, that's why we should help. At least we can say we tried." Damus retorts as he comes out of his flashback.

"Nostradamus, we are not having this conversation in front of guests." Quincy says with a slight edge in his words. Damus huffs through his nose and looks pointedly away from his uncle.

Natsu, Lucy, and Happy exchange worried looks but stay out of the family discussion.

Inside the cave the crew that had been working overnight on the arena had got most of it fixed but the cavern walls had not been touched. Once they reach the arena, they see some of the fighters have already arrived and are warming up. For today's practices the Fairy Tail team decides that Natsu will help them with their hand-to-hand combat, Happy will fly around and the fighters will try to land any blows on him, and Lucy will help with defensive maneuvers. Damus joins the fighters and Quincy will referee.

Convincing the fighters to spar with Natsu is the hardest part of the day. Each one believes that Natsu would beat them up, put them on a stake, and char the meat off of their bones. After some carefully placed words from Lucy and Damus, the fighters agree…albeit very reluctantly.

The first two matches of the day are against Natsu and the fighters hesitate to get closer than three arm lengths to him. This isn't very instructive and informative since Natsu is trying to teach _hand-to-hand_ techniques. Every time Natsu would close in, the fighters would jump back at such a lightning fast speed that even Laxus would have been jealous.

Growing annoyed at the lack of enthusiasm, Natsu decides to let the fighters come to him. Once they approach Natsu and throw a few soft punches, their confidence grows and they start to actual try and fight. Seeing that Natsu has no intention of hurting them, the other fighters fight whole-heartedly when their turn arrives.

Of course, these fights are child's play to Natsu. Lucy and Happy knows it and have to keep him in check. Every time Natsu looks as if he is about to whine or complain about not having a tough enough opponent, Lucy quickly interrupts and discreetly reprimands him.

Then it is Damus' turn. A wide grin spreads across Natsu's face as he faces his familiar opponent and drops into a battle stance. Before Damus can mirror Natsu, Quincy hops in between the two boys and demands that they follow the rule of the earlier matches: no magic or, in Damus' case, no magic-like abilities. Both nod in agreement and begin their match of only hand-to-hand combat.

After both are slightly out of breath they call a truce and allow Lucy or Happy to switch with Natsu. Damus follows Natsu out of the dirt fighting ring. As they walk Natsu twists his lips in contemplation as if he is trying to decide whether he should ask a question or not. He decides not to…yet.

Happy substitutes for Natsu and begins to fly around the arena. Looking up at Happy all of the men are confused as to what they were supposed to do. "You are to catch or hit him; this will help you hone your reflexes." Lucy says, making up some lame excuse.

Small groups of the men take their places around the arena and attempt to catch the flying blue cat. Damus talks with Natsu about their fight while Lucy watches Happy. Seeing fully grown men jumping, running, bumping, and twisting into each other then go crashing to the ground after grabbing at empty spaces of air is both hilarious and ludicrous to Lucy.

Lunch is called soon afterward and everyone eats their fill. Now it is Lucy's turn. She calls out Gemini once again and tells them that she wants them to mimic everyone just like yesterday but to try to attack them as much as possible.

This time, Damus is first. Gemini transforms into a make-shift version of him and springs into action. Damus elegantly blocks each attack and never starts an offensive maneuver. After their match, Damus goes and sits by his uncle as the next match is called. Each of the men follows the same routine as the one previously. Before anyone realizes the how late it was, it was time for everyone to go home. Feeling like the day was a success; all of the fighters congratulate and slap each other on the back as they walk out.

Gathering up the kids, Quincy leads them outside the mountain once more but continues into town instead of going home. "I need to get some food for dinner. You guys are going to need it for tomorrow after all," he says.

"Why? What's tomorrow?" Happy asks.

"Tomorrow is our 'rehearsal'," Quincy does the air quotations marks. "We invited everyone in town to come and watch the fighters practice. It's kind of a way to get everyone pumped up for the matches."

"That sounds like fun!" Lucy adds cheerfully.

"We think the whole town will turn up tomorrow." Damus interjects.

"So I need to get you three some good grub if I want you in tip-top shape tomorrow."

"Alright! All-we-can-eat! Let's go!" Natsu raises his fists in the air and runs off.

Catching up to the fire mage, they enter into a market. Everyone picks what they want for dinner. Natsu picks about a quarter of the store while everyone else picks one or two things. Quincy is severely depressed as he pays the ecstatic manager.

Once they arrive back at the house, they cook the food and begin to eat.

Amongst the sounds of silverware scrapping on the plates, mouths chomping on food, and glassware being lifted and replaced on the table, Natsu decides to ask the burning question that's been on his mind. "Hey Damus, would you like to join Fairy Tail?"

All of the other occupants of the table immediately stop what they are doing and stare at Natsu.

"What?" Damus crooks over the food hanging out of his mouth.

"Would you like to join Fairy Tail?" Natsu repeats himself.

"Natsu…" Lucy quietly murmurs to herself.

"No. He is not allowed to leave." Quincy declares. The attention of the table shifts to Quincy at his stern rejection of Natsu's offer.

Damus swallows his food before he asks, "Why not?"

"Because I say so." Turning towards Natsu, he begins to chastise the young man, "You have no right to ask him to leave. His place is here. His home and friends are here. Our family has lived in this valley for five generations and you expect him just to leave at a drop-of-a-hat? He doesn't want to leave…"

"But what if I want to go?" Damus suddenly interjects.

Quincy stops his rant and gapes at Damus. "Why would you…"

Damus pushes his plate away and faces his uncle. "Uncle Quincy, this valley and house is my home and it will always be my home, but lately I've have been feeling…out of place. I want to travel, see the world, meet new people, and further my abilities. If I stay here I can never do any of that stuff."

"You can do all of those things here!"

"No, I can't. Both of us knows that."

Silence surrounds Quincy as he continues to stare at his nephew. Bowing his head so that no one can see his eyes he softly speaks, "I can't lose you too…Can you just think about it for a little while? Would you please just do that for me?"

"…Sure." Damus responds just as softly.

The screeching of the chair on the floor is heard as Quincy leaves the table and escapes to his bedroom. For a few minutes the whole house is silent. Natsu looks at Happy and then at Lucy, who shakes her head.

"Sorry about that. Uncle Quincy is just protective of me. He didn't mean to insult you Natsu."

"Nah, he didn't hurt my feelings. It was just a question. I thought maybe you would like to join since you like to fight and all." Natsu says.

"You also like to help people too. Right, Natsu?" Happy agrees.

"Yeah! We are always looking for people like you to join our guild."

"Thanks…"

"Are you alright?" Lucy asks timidly.

"Yeah, I'm okay. I think I just need to lie down. Come on, let's finish eating."

Nodding their heads everyone finishes their plates quickly and silently. The slight tension in air lingered while they were washing and drying the dishes. Every now and then they would hear crashing noises coming from Quincy's bedroom but no one would dare interrupt the man. Going upstairs they say their goodnights and head off to bed. For Natsu, Happy, and Lucy the night is short but for Damus it is filled with restless decisions.

* * *

Walking, once again, towards the mountain in the morning, the group sees the townspeople beginning to enter into the mountainside opening. Merging into the crowd slows their fast walking. Lucy notices some cracks along the ceiling as she steadily walks along and thinks to herself, _they must have gotten there from Natsu and Damus' fight. I hope the construction crews get it fixed in time._ She also notices Damus and Quincy's appearances.

Neither Damus nor Quincy looks well rested this morning. Damus has bags under his eyes and his hair is in disarray. Quincy is in worse shape: his eyes are bloodshot, his skin is paler, and his knuckles are slightly bruised and scraped. Neither one has spoken a word to the other all morning. Their silence has created a tense atmosphere around the group.

Once inside the arena, the small group arrives to where the rest of the men are waiting. The fighters take note of Quincy and Damus' appearance but don't ask about what is going on. Quincy stands in front of the men and makes his daily announcement. "Alright everybody, it looks like the whole town has showed up to watch our matches today so let's give them a good show." The men cheer and clap in agreement. "I have a request of our mages for today; I want you to fight the men one-on-one. When it is someone's turn to fight, they pick one of you to battle and you use both offensive and defensive measures against them. Just don't kill 'em. That clear?"

"Yes sir, we understand." Lucy nods her head.

"Alright, let's get this party started." Quincy says as he pulls out a hat from the side.

Everyone draws numbers as to the order in which they will compete. Damus, who hasn't spoken yet, will fight halfway through. Once everyone has drawn a number, Quincy walks out into the arena and welcomes the crowd. Yelling and screaming can be heard inside the walls of the arena and increases once Natsu, Happy and Lucy are introduced as the competitors of the day.

The first match is called and the man asks for Lucy. She calls out Gemini and "ohhhh's" and "awwww's" can be heard all around the arena. Gemini morphs as they have done the previous days and begins the battle. Cheering and clapping sounds throughout the fight.

The following matches follow the same course except sometimes the fighters ask for Natsu. Natsu would give it his best but not overwhelm them. More cheering and clapping resounds through the fights as the crowd is proud of their friends and family.

Midway through the day, it's Damus' turn. He enters the dirt area and asks for Natsu. Moving to stand in front of him, Natsu cracks his knuckles as he states, "Let's give it all we got!"

A small smile appears on Damus' face, "Yeah sounds good."

Lucy's eyes go wide, "Uh oh…"

Natsu's fists set aflame as Damus summons his staff. The crowd is deathly silent as a wave of surprise, astonishment, and wonder passes over them. Damus performs the same movements as two days ago and summons Ifrit to the field. Wowing is heard everywhere as the giant beast lands in the center of the dirt ring.

Natsu leaps toward Ifrit and Ifrit flings him to the wall of the cavern. Damus jumps onto Ifrit's back before Ifrit kicks off the ground. Natsu propels himself forward and punches Ifrit or Damus in midair. They land and start all over again. They complete this cycle a few more times. It's as if their previous fight is replaying itself. Until…

Launching himself towards Ifrit and Damus, Natsu lights his whole body on fire and yells, "Fire Dragon's Sword Horn!" As he reaches Ifrit, Natsu head butts the creature with such force that Ifrit is sent flying backwards and into one of the pillars on the far side of the cavern. Damus manages to jump off of Ifrit's back in time to land safely inside the arena. Natsu joins him soon afterwards and gives him a wide grin.

Ifrit limps beside his summoner before collapsing onto the ground. Gasps are made from all of the onlookers. Damus kneels next to him and whispers, "You did great, go home and recover," before waving his staff and sending Ifrit away. Holding his arm in front of his body the staff vanishes. Damus drops into a fighting stance and Natsu mimics his movements…

 _CRACK!_

All of the attention, including the fighter's, turns toward the loud noise. It came from the pillar that Ifrit struck. The impact caused the pillar to break at the top and is now on the verge of tipping over.

 _CRACK! CRACK!_

The pillar starts to fall over on its side, following the cave wall. It hits the next pillar and breaks it. Continuing its fall, the first pillar pushes the second broken pillar over and the second hits a third pillar and breaks that one. Every one of the pillars began to fall in this unbelievable, wacky sort of Domino Effect. As the pillars fall around the cavern, every pair of unblinking eyes and wide hanging mouths follows the events. Once the pillar closest to the entrance to the cavern falls it hits the wall directly above the entrance. A rumbling sound is heard deep inside the wall; as if the rocks are moving. After a few minutes, another crash is heard coming from the outside of the mountain.

Natsu and Damus look at each other before running out of the arena and down the hallway. Noticing the two fighters, everyone follows their example and leaps out of their seats to run down the hallway. Lucy, Happy, Quincy, and the fighters lead the people outside to stand in front of the door. Standing a few feet away from everyone Natsu and Damus are gaping at the opening in the mountain.

"What's wrong?" Lucy asks.

Damus points above everyone's heads and looking up, gasps and small screams are heard from the townspeople. The wooden beams above the entrance are nearly pushed completely out from the force of the rocks. The door nearly caved in but for whatever reason, it didn't. Everyone looks between one another and questions about why there was no cave in spilled from every mouth.

Breathing a sigh of relief Damus says, "Well, that could have been…"

 _Creak…_

Everyone jerks their heads back up and sees the wooden beam beginning to fall. Both ends of the beam collide with the beams on the side of the entrance and push against them. Both beams fall forward, carrying the broken beam, and hit the buildings directly in their path. These buildings are split forward and to the side hitting nearby buildings. The buildings falls under the weight of the previous and are quickly pushed as well. Stone bricks crack and split, tiles slide off rooftops and crash into the ground, debris is thrown into the air, and crashing noises blare across the valley.

Due to their close proximity each preceding building hits the next building and creates an even more intricate and complex Domino Effect than the pillars. Fanning out across the valley, each house falls under the weight of the last until almost every house has been destroyed. The only ones that were safe from harm were the ones that were built higher up into the mountainside like Quincy and Damus' house. The once bustling town is now piles of stone, wood, glass, and metal.

Every onlooker to the scene was in a state of utter astonishment. Pale as ghosts, eyes as wide as saucers, arms slack, and jaw as low as the ground is features each one possessed. The entire town was destroyed in five minutes. Who would have thought that a single punch would turn into the annihilation of their entire town? Nobody. Nobody would have thought so.

"…worse." Damus peeps.

The first to recover is Quincy. "Nostradamus! Natsu!" he yells.

Natsu and Damus cringe at Quincy's outburst before slowly turning to face the angry man. Once they turn around, they notice how the whole body of townspeople is staring at them.

"Umm…I hope this doesn't ruin the festival." Natsu says nervously as he rubs the back of his head.

Hearing Natsu's stupid comment everyone flips upside down and face faults into the ground.

Each person gains their composure after a few minutes and begins to head towards their houses. Or what used to be their houses. Natsu, Lucy, Happy, Damus, and Quincy are left in front of the entrance of the cavern.

"What do we do now?" Lucy asks quietly. It's quite obvious that the festival will be cancelled because there is no town to hold the festival in but she still didn't want to hear the news.

"We have no choice; we'll have to repair the town." Quincy says hopelessly. "It looks like your services are no longer needed." Lucy's face fills with worry and he quickly adds, "Don't worry. I won't make you responsible for the damages. It wasn't entirely your fault anyway. Just partly."

"Really?!" Lucy, Natsu, and Happy gush. They can't believe it; usually they wind up paying more than the reward or at least lose half of it because of damages.

"Yeah, really. Although for your part of the damages I'll be keeping your payment."

"Awww…" It was too good to be true after all; their hopes were dashed in an instant. All three pairs of shoulders slump in misery.

"I'm not sure when the next train leaves but you can stay at the house until then."

"Thanks Quincy, we appreciate it." Lucy gives a sweet smile. Turning towards Natsu she says, "Let's go see when the next train leaves." Natsu nods in agreement.

"Can I come?" Damus asks.

"Sure, I don't see why not." Natsu says.

Quincy quirks an eyebrow at his nephew before silently following behind the group to the train station. On the way there he sees people digging through the stone piles to reach precious heirlooms, antiques, and valuables that are underneath the rubble. Others are cleaning some of the smaller pieces of debris from the road in an attempt to make a pathway. He overhears that the mayor is calling in construction crews from nearby towns to help with the cleanup. This is going to be a long week for everyone.

Reaching the train station, which is by some miracle still standing, they check the departure times. "Train to Magnolia; leaving in an hour and a half," Lucy reads off the small board. "Perfect, just enough time to get our stuff packed."

Damus looks down at his feet in thought at the news.

"Come on Damus, let's go help clean up. We have a lot of work ahead of us." Quincy says as he turns toward the ruins of Gillamoor.

"Wait," Damus turns and faces his uncle in silence for a minute before continuing in a strong voice. "I'm sorry Uncle Quincy but I can't stay. I have made up my mind." Quincy's face morphs into one of complete heartache and tears prick the corners of his eyes. Damus turns to look at Natsu and Lucy before he speaks. "Can I come with you to Fairy Tail?"

Natsu and Lucy look at one another and give each other a smile. They look at Damus and give him a sharp nod.

"We'll leave on the next train. You better get some of your things packed." Lucy says. Natsu and Happy jump into the conversation, "We'll help you pack! We're expert packers."

"Thank you." Damus gives a small smile. He turns back to his uncle to say something but the words get caught in his throat.

"Well, I should go see if I can help with anything. Come find me before you leave," Quincy says in a small, quiet, and sad voice before walking back into the destroyed town. He doesn't look back at Damus. It's too hard.

"Will he be alright Damus?" Lucy asks timidly as she comes up behind him.

"Yeah, he's just sad. We should go pack my things."

Exchanging looks between one another, the small group heads toward Damus' house. Reaching the front door, Damus quickly unlocks it and steps inside. "What should I pack?" he asks.

"Just the essentials right now. You can either buy or have your other stuff shipped to you later."

"Alright," and with that word each one went to their own rooms to pack accordingly. After packing their things Lucy, Natsu, and Happy assist Damus with his packing. He doesn't have very much so it isn't difficult. Clothes, money, some old photos, and other miscellaneous stuff are thrown into a large bag at the bottom of the stairs. It's been an hour after they checked the train schedule and they still have to go see Quincy. Dropping his house key on the side table next to the door, Damus takes one last look around before grabbing his bag and following after the mages.

They find Quincy near the train station. Noticing their presence, Quincy gestures to the platform. They walk up to the ticket salesman and buy four tickets. Natsu, Lucy, and Happy say their goodbyes to Quincy before boarding the train. Just before stepping onto the train Lucy turns and calls out to Quincy, "Don't worry, we care about everyone in Fairy Tail like family. We take care of our own." Quincy gives a small nod in her direction. They board the train while Damus is left standing on the side of the platform with his uncle. The three mages sit in a booth with Damus and Quincy are outside the window talking. This is a family moment and they don't want to intrude. Damus has a sad smile while Quincy looks like he is on the brink of tears.

The last whistle for train sounds throughout the station and Quincy quickly pulls Damus into a hug as tears start streaming down his face. He mouths the words 'I love you' and 'be safe' as he tightens his grip around his nephew. Damus returns the hug and replies that he loves him too and that he'll write often. Releasing his uncle from his hold, Damus grabs his bag. The train begins to move and Damus hops on before the train can gain any real momentum. As it leaves the station he leans to the side and with a wide smile, gives a big goodbye wave to his uncle. Quincy returns the wave as his tears never seem to end. Once out of the station, Damus joins his soon-to-be fellow guildmates.

Pushing his bag in the cubby above the seats he sits down next to Lucy. "Is everything alright?" she asks him.

"Yeah, everything's great," he sighs to himself and a smile rests upon his face. "I can't wait…"

A sudden groan from Natsu interrupts Damus' words. Natsu is already leaned back against the seat with his mouth hanging open, eyes blank, and sickly pale tone coloring his skin.

"Dude, are you okay?" Damus asks worriedly. His face is a picture of worry, confusion, and disgust. He makes a motion to help the poor pink-haired man but jumps back when Natsu's face turns a hideous green shade and his hands come up to cup his mouth.

Lucy smiles and lightly laughs at the scenario before answering. "Welcome to Fairy Tail."

* * *

On the train, Lucy and Happy say that they will give Damus a tour of the city once he has become an official member. For most of the train ride Damus thinks about how his new life is going to be; about all of the new adventures, people, and places he has read and heard about. There are no words to describe his growing excitement. That is until Natsu throws up on him and Damus have to go change his shirt. It killed the mood but it doesn't deter his spirit.

Once they get off the train, Natsu looks like he hasn't almost been dead for the past six hours. _How does he do that?_ Damus thinks to himself.

By the time they got to Magnolia it was late in the evening so the group of four decide to go to the guild in the morning. Damus gets a hotel room and Natsu, Happy, and Lucy say that they will come pick him up in the morning to take him to the guild. Damus is too excited to sleep and every minute of the night feels like an eternity.

The morning after Natsu and Damus destroyed Gillamoor; they walk through Magnolia and are almost to the Fairy Tail guild. _It is a very nice town; I can totally see why people would want to live here,_ Damus thinks as he looks around.

Once they reach two giant wooden doors to what Damus assumes to be the Fairy Tail guild, Damus inhales a deep breath. There's no turning back now. Not that he wants to but at least he had the option before.

Lucy puts her hand on the door and before she pushes it open she turns to him and says, "You ready?"

Damus exhales and nods his head. Lucy and Natsu give him a smile before they push the doors open. They step inside of the wide room and Damus recognizes some of the occupants from the games.

A red-headed member stood overlooking a board game between two cats, or exceeds technically speaking, and a young blue haired girl. Damus is pretty sure their names are Erza Scarlet and Wendy Marvell. They were a part of Fairy Tail Team A. He's not sure about the two cats.

The two most noticeable things about Erza are her loose waist length red hair and her attire. She wears a shiny suit of armor that encases her shoulders, forearms, hips, the base of her neck, the front of her chest, and the front of her stomach. A darker cross is etched into her armor across her chest. Underneath the armor she has a form fitting black shirt that leads into a blue skirt that ends above her knees. A pair of blue boots dons her feet and a brown belt circles her waist. The armor hides most of her very curvy figure. She has dark brown eyes, slender eyebrows, and a small mouth.

Wendy is a young girl around twelve years old. She has big round brown eyes, a tiny nose, a smile mouth, and is very petite in both stature and size. Her blue hair, which is pulled into two side ponytails on the top of her head, goes down to the top of her thighs. Her attire consist of a green halter dress with a light green, upside-down "v" shape extending from her neck down to her sides. A similar shaped gold band is underneath the light green but above the bottom part which has black lines crisscrossing each other and is a dark green color. Two gold bands encase her biceps and she wears a pair of sandals.

One of the cats has white fur, pointed ears, and looks to be about Happy's size. She has a pink dress with dark pink on the top and light pink on the bottom. A yellow tie with a kitten paw print is hanging around her neck. Opposite of the white cat sits a cat with black fur on its body with white fur covering the underside of its mouth. The size of Happy, he has small rounded ears, a crescent shaped scar on the upper side of his left eye, and wears small green shorts with a brown belt.

Two tables away sits another member of Team A and a member from Team B, Gray Fullbuster and Juvia Lockser. Gray is a young man with black hair, dark eyes, thin eyebrows, and a straight mouth. He wears an unbuttoned red shirt that shows off his six-pack and his dark blue Fairy Tail symbol on his left pectoral, blue jeans, and a silver necklace that resembles a cross.

Juvia has big blue eyes with long eyelashes, long, wavy, light-blue hair that goes down to her shoulders, a small nose, and a small mouth to match. She wears a dark blue cap with fur along the edge, shoulder warmers that match her cap, a brown belt, and a lighter blue dress underneath with a high leg slit, fur on the cuffs, and two white parallel stripes down the front.

The last member from Team A sits at another table next to the bar with a smaller girl in front of him with the other woman from Team B serving them. The man is Elfman Strauss, the waitress is Mirajane Strauss, and Damus doesn't know who the other girl is. She must be their sister or close relative because all three have white hair and she looks similar to Mira. Elfman is massive to say the least; he has muscles on his muscles. Both of the girls are very feminine and beautiful with pale skin and blue eyes. Mira walks off towards the bar where two of her teammates from Team B sit.

Cana Alberona is sitting with a wine barrel in her lap on the bar. She is also very beautiful with long wavy brown hair and a voluptuous body. Laxus Dreyar is at the end of the bar with a beer stein in hand. _He sure does look moody._

On the other side of the room Gajeel Redfox, the last member of Team B, sits at a round table with a petite girl in an orange dress, a thin man with orange hair, and a heavy set man with a chicken leg in his hand. Gajeel looks…rough. He has metal studs in his ears, above his eyes in makeshift eyebrows, his nose, his chin, and his forearms. His wild mane of black hair runs down his back and along with his red eyes gives him a fierce kind-of look. He wears a black tunic with no sleeves that extends to his knees and that looks ripped at the edge, loose beige pants, studded gauntlets, and studded boots. Over his right shoulder he also has a feather looking garment that hangs over his arm.

In the center of the guild sat other numerous characters, none of which Damus knew. He'll find out eventually so he guesses there's no need to stress studying everyone at the moment.

"Hey everyone! We're home!" Natsu calls out. Most of the crowd turns toward them and gives a small cheer, "Welcome back!" As they turn back to what they were doing previously, Lucy, Natsu, and Happy motion for Damus to follow them as they head to the bar.

"Welcome back," says a smiling Mira in a calm voice, "and who's this?"

"Our newest member!" Natsu yells happily and slings his arm around Damus' shoulder.

"Hello," Damus says with smile.

She smiles at him before speaking, "Oh how nice, we might be getting a new member today. Let me go get the master." Mira walks out from behind the bar and walks up the stairs to the second floor.

A stern voice resounds behind them, "Lucy and Natsu, I'm glad you made it back safely. Was there any trouble?" They turn to see Erza standing in front of Wendy, the two exceeds, and Gray.

Lucy scowls at the two of them from the corner of her eye before looking back at Erza. "A few things happened but it's nothing to worry about."

"That's good to hear. We don't need anything or _anyone,_ " she glares hard at Natsu, "to be causing any trouble for Fairy Tail." Natsu straightens his back and rapidly shakes his head while sweating vigorously. Even Damus feels the fear radiating off of him. _Natsu's scared of Erza? Why? Does she know about the town being destroyed? I'll have to find out somehow_ , Damus thinks slyly.

Finally noticing his presence she turns her body to directly face Damus and with a commanding voice asks, "Who are you? What is your business here?"

Damus slightly jumps under her strict gaze and he can feel his stomach drop. Now he sees why Natsu looks so scared; it's hard not to be when she looks like she'll kill you without even thinking about it if you say the wrong word. Damus had no idea that she would be frightening at all, better yet this kind of frightening. Within four seconds Damus looks like Natsu; scared stiff of the woman in front of them.

"My na-name is Damus and I-I'm here to join the g-guild," Damus stammers out. _Way to wuss out there Damus._

"We brought him Erza, he's not really a mage per say but he is strong. We thought he would make a great addition to the guild." Lucy defends him. For some odd reason she looks perfectly fine.

Never breaking eye contact with Damus she asks Lucy, "Are you sure?"

"Yes we're sure."

Relaxing her shoulders, Erza releases her firm gaze and looks at him almost normally. Damus still haven't moved. He doesn't want to risk upsetting her by moving the wrong muscle. Two pairs of footsteps sound behind them and Damus hears an elderly voice, "So this is the young man?"

Slowly turning away from the red-headed knight, Damus sees Mira with a short, old man. Damus remembers seeing his picture flash on the lacrima screen a few times during the games. He's the Master of Fairy Tail, Makarov Dreyar. Damus can't believe how tiny he is; he barely reaches his knee. Damus knew he was short but this is ridiculous.

Makarov has a bald spot on the top of his head with white, spiky hair on the sides and back of his head. His short, thick moustache is also white but his thick eyebrows are gray. Dark eyelashes circle his green eyes and prominent wrinkles are on his forehead and around the corners of his eyes and mouth. He wears a white tunic, black pants, and a white coat with white fur along the trim and gold shoulder pads.

He greets him with a warm smile, "So I hear that you have come to join the guild?"

"Yes sir."

He looks him up and down then furrows his eyebrows, "You don't seem to have any magical energy."

"Yes sir, I can't use any magical abilities but I do have two Bloodline abilities."

The master's eyes go wide and his mouth drops, "You have TWO Bloodline abilities?!"

"Uh, yes sir. Is that a problem?"

He stares at him in complete shock while Damus hears murmuring voices behind him. "What's a Bloodline ability?", "Is the master okay?", "Who's he?".

Practically the whole guild is looking at him expecting an answer. Not sure of what he should do, Damus looks at the Master for any sort of indication. Coming out of his shock, the master asks him to explain his powers to him and their onlookers. Damus explains everything the way he explained it to Lucy, Natsu, and Happy back in Gillamoor. At the end of his little speech the master nods his head and Damus hear little wow's coming from behind him.

"You sound like you will be a good member. Welcome to Fairy Tail Damus." The master says with a wide smile. Natsu, Lucy, and Happy cheer the Master's decision as Damus thanks the old man. Mira walks behind the bar and retrieves a stamp before returning back to them.

"Where would you like your stamp and in what color?" she asks sweetly.

Damus points to the inside of his right forearm, "Right here and in dark green, please."

She pushes the stamp to his skin and after a few seconds pulls it off with a popping sound. In its place lies the dark green symbol of Fairy Tail. Damus puffs his chest up with pride as he looks at his forearm. _This emblem is a symbol of a new chapter in my life. Of all of the new adventures, people, and places that I will meet and see._

"Welcome to the guild!" Natsu, Lucy, and Happy yell as Natsu throws his arm around his shoulders and Happy floats near his head. Damus grins at them broadly.

The armor cladded mage holds out her hand, "Yes, welcome to the guild. My name is Erza Scarlet."

Damus takes her hand and formerly introduces myself, "Thank you, my name is Damus."

Overcome with what Damus think is enthusiasm; Erza tightens her grip as she shakes his hand and begins to talk about the guild. She seems to forget that she is grabbing his hand as she talks because her grip tightens with every second. Damus' face contorts into a strangled cry and he falls to his knees in pain as she squeezes with such strength that Damus can feel the bones about to break. Somewhere beside him Damus can hear Lucy trying to grab Erza's attention long enough to where she'll let go of him. Still not paying him any heed, Damus tries to pry her fingers loose but fails miserably. On the verge of tears, Damus decides to beg. His pride will be broken into a million pieces but it may be the only way to save his hand. "Er-Erza ple-please…"

"Hmmm?" She lets go of his hand and looks at him while Damus cradles his nearly broken hand, "Why are you on the floor?" Natsu, Gray, Lucy, Wendy, and Happy sweatdrops at Erza's obliviousness.

Damus looks at her in disbelief. "No reason…"

Wendy kneels beside him and asks in a timid voice, "Would you like me to look at it?"

Damus looks her with big, exaggerated tears and chirps a small yes. She holds out her palms facedown and a light blue glow of magic surrounds her hands. "I'm Wendy Marvell. It's very nice to meet you."

After about a minute his hand feels much better and Damus can move it without any pain. "I'm Damus, thanks for fixing his hand." She gives him a small smile and a nod before standing up and moving between the two exceeds. Damus stands up as he moves his hand in different motions to make sure everything works properly.

The, now shirtless, raven-haired man whispers to him, "Sorry about that, Erza can get a little…overenthusiastic about the guild sometimes."

Glancing in her direction Damus looks back at Gary and whispers, "Nah, it's fine. I'm Damus by the way."

"Gray. Good to meet ya." He throws his shoe over his shoulder without noticing. Damus watches as it lands on the other side of the guild and looks back only to find him missing his other shoe and pants as well. The only thing he's wearing is his boxers and he doesn't seem to notice. _Is this normal?_ Damus can't help but wonder to myself.

"Um, what happened to your clothes?"

Gray looks down at himself and yells, more to himself than anyone else, "Dammit! Not again!" He then stalks off to look for his "misplaced" clothing. Natsu snickers to himself.

"That is such a terrible habit," a small feminine voice says below him. Damus looks down at the two exceeds and his head tilts to the side in wonder.

"It's rude to stare," the white one says coldly. The black one looks bored or irritated, Damus can't decide which one.

"I'm sorry, I didn't mean to stare. It's just that I've never really seen exceeds before, with the exception of Happy."

"It doesn't matter, it's still rude," she points and waggles her finger at him, "you should learn some decent manners before interacting with anyone."

"I don't think he meant anything by it Carla," the black one spoke in a deep voice. Damus looks at him surprised. This little cat has a deeper voice than him. How is that even fair? His pride takes another plunge in the drink.

"I'm Pantherlily," says the dark exceed and then he points to the white exceed, "and this is Carla."

"It's nice to meet you both." Damus tries to be as polite as possible. He doesn't want to get on anyone's bad side on his first day. Even a cat's.

"Well now that you've met some of your guildmates, how about we give you a tour?" Lucy claps her hands together in excitement.

"Yes! We must give you a tour." Erza grabs the collar of Damus' shirt and begins to drag him around the floor of the guild. Natsu, Lucy, and Happy trail behind them and give him crooked smiles as Damus reaches out towards them for any sort of help. None of which Damus actually receives.

Almost everyone greets him with warm smiles and friendly gestures. Some even asked where Damus from and about how his abilities worked. Damus would have told them but the hand around the back of his neck reminds him that he is unavailable at the moment. Others, mainly Gajeel and Laxus, grunted at his presence so Damus is quickly jerked along to the next members. All the while, the small group shows him the interior and exterior of the guild. After what feels like hours of endless wondering Damus has met almost everyone in the guild, saw every nook and cranny of the joint, and became very well acquainted with the floors.

Once they are back in front of the bar Mira calls Erza over for a piece of strawberry cake. Damus collapses on the floor as Erza promptly drops him.

 _That's all it takes? A piece of strawberry cake and I could have been able to walk for the last several hours?_ Whatever was left of his pride after it was destroyed by being frightened, almost having his hand crushed, being chastised by a cat, and knowing that another cat has a deeper voice than him has shriveled up and died.

"Damus, are you okay?" Lucy crouches beside him as she asks in a worried tone.

Damus raise his head off of the floor, "Yeah, I'll live." He plops his head back down and groans at his soreness. Being dragged around can really take it of out a guy.

A sudden thought hits him. He has no place to live. He has been so busy meeting everyone and seeing the guild that Damus forgot that he needs to find somewhere to stay. Deciding that he has had enough of the floor, Damus shakily stands up. "You guys wouldn't happen to know where some apartments are by any chance."

"No, but they can go look around town if you want. It's only a little after twelve so all of the apartments around town should be available for people to look inside," Lucy replies happily.

"But first, let's get something to eat! I'm starving!" Natsu declares. Happy quickly seconds his partner's idea.

"When are you ever _not_ starving?" Lucy says sarcastically.

"After I eat." Natsu replies dumbly. Lucy facepalms herself.

"Okay. Let's go eat, and then we can go apartment shopping."

"Aye!" Natsu and Happy yell.

The group of four leaves the guild to go to a restaurant somewhere in town. As they walk, Natsu, Happy, and Lucy talk about their weird guild mates that Damus will come to know well. First they talk about Erza's love of cake, Gray's stripping habit, and Wendy's healing powers. Then they talk about the Strauss siblings; Mirajane is sweet and demonic, Elfman loves to say how everything is manly by using his catchphrase 'Man', and Lisanna is kind and loving.

Natsu talks about the two other male dragon slayers in the guild: Laxus and Gajeel or "lightning rod" and "metal head" as he like to call them. Lucy says that Laxus has a very devout team called the Thunder Legion which has three members named Freed, Bickslow, and Evergreen. She also says that two of her closest friends are Cana and Levy. She warns him to never ever have a drinking contest with Cana because Damus will, absolutely, positively, without a doubt, lose. When it comes to Levy though, who turns out to be the petite girl in the orange dress, she went on and on about how she loves to read and how she is her best friend outside of Team Natsu. Since she had a book in her hands when Damus meet her, he doesn't find that hard to believe. When they reach the restaurant Lucy is still talking about her. Throughout the meal they tell him about the rest of our guild. By the time they finished with everyone's brief introductions the meal was finished and they were waiting for the check.

"Let's go check around where I live and see if there's anything." Lucy says as she stands up from the table.

"Sounds good to me," Damus joins her in standing.

And that is how his afternoon full of apartment shopping started. For the next several hours they looked through nine apartments that didn't quite fit his taste. They came in all shapes and sizes: big, small, classy, rundown, lots of windows, no windows, furnished, and unfurnished. Damus finally settles on the tenth one which he finds to be perfect. It is a little on the smaller side but still has four rooms: a bedroom, a small bathroom, a small kitchen, and a living area. And it isn't that far from the guild. The landlord tells him that the rent is sixty-thousand jewel a month and Damus has to have a down payment of ten-thousand jewel before he can move in. It sounds reasonable to him so Damus signs the contract and tells the landlord that he will be moving in by the end of the week.

Walking outside Damus notices how late it's getting. Then he realizes that he has another, more immediate problem. "Well I guess I need somewhere to stay in the meantime…"

"You can stay with me and Happy!" Natsu volunteers almost immediately.

"Are you sure you wouldn't mind? I don't want to intrude."

"Yeah we're sure." Happy says enthusiastically.

"Thanks I really appreciate it."

"Well then I guess you need some money for your down payment. How about we all take a job request tomorrow?" Lucy suggests.

Natsu, Happy and Damus nod their heads and they head back to the guild. Once they cross the threshold they walk to a table where Gray, Erza, Wendy, and Carla sit. Natsu insults Gray immediately but before Gray can respond Erza gives both boys a death glare. Both guys instantly shut up and sit down next to each other. Damus takes the seat next to Natsu while Lucy sits next to Wendy. Happy joins Carla on the table. Gray starts asking Damus questions about himself and Damus happily tells them all everything they want to know.

Before they knew it, night had fallen and it was time to go to home. Natsu, Happy and Damus stand up and say their goodbyes before leaving the guild.

"Are you hungry?" Natsu says after a couple of minutes.

"Yeah, a little bit. You wanna go get something to eat?"

"Yeah, something quick," Natsu walks toward a small shop on the side of the road and orders several plates while Damus orders one. They get the plates to go and they head to Natsu's house.

Natsu puts his hands behind his head as they walk, "So how'd you like it at the guild?"

A wide smile spreads across Damus' face, "I love it. I love everything about it. Thanks for inviting me Natsu. I really owe you a lot for all of this."

"Don't worry about it." He turns his head a gives him a goofy smile. They continue to walk for around twenty minutes before they reach a little wooden house with a sign that reads "Natsu and Happy's House" in front. Natsu turns the handle and he lets Damus inside. It's a small house normally but with clutter all over the floor it looks even smaller. "Make yourself at home!" He waves toward the inside. Happy flies over to a counter in the kitchen and takes off his backpack.

"Thanks." Damus steps over some of the things strewn out on the floor to get to the bathroom. After he has done his business he comes back out to see Natsu opening his dinner plates on the kitchen counter. Damus grabs his and sits on the small couch on the opposite side of the room. As Natsu and Happy scarf their food down, Damus takes his time as he recalls the events of the day.

Everyone is so cool about everything and they're so welcoming. It feels like a real family…

"Damus?" Natsu calls him.

"Huh, what did ya say Natsu?" Damus says as he comes out of his thoughts.

"You going to finish that?" Natsu points to his plate.

"Yeah," Damus quickly finish his plate before getting up to throw it away. As Damus moves back towards the kitchen he sees a big wall with multiple fliers and knick-knacks on it. "What's all this?" Damus asks out of curiosity.

"Huh?" Natsu looks up from his food, "Oh, that's all the missions that Luce, Happy, and I have been on."

"You keep memorabilia from all of your jobs? Why?"

"No, just the ones we go on with Lucy." Natsu shrugs his shoulders, "I don't know why, we just like to is all." He moves beside Damus with Happy on top of his head.

Happy points to one particular flier and says, "That's the first job we went on with Lucy. She wore the maid outfit in the corner," he points to a short maid dress. "And this one is the S-Class mission we went on…" and both Happy and Natsu began to describe to him every job and object they accumulated for their collection.

Halfway through Damus realizes that they both care very deeply for Lucy. Damus wishes that he had someone who cared for him that much. He is sure his Uncle Quincy does but he wants someone outside his family to care for him like Natsu does towards Lucy. Damus is going to make and strengthen those bonds in Fairy Tail. That's his resolve.

After showing him everything, they decide to turn in for the night. Damus sleeps on the couch while Natsu and Happy sleep in their hammock. Damus can hear Natsu's snoring as he drifts off to sleep.

* * *

It's a tradition to break into Lucy's house. Damus wouldn't think so by the way she yells at them to get out and literally kicks them out of the building but maybe he's just wrong.

As him, Natsu, and Happy wait on the side of the road for her to finish getting dressed, Natsu and Happy talk about some of the jobs they've been on in the past. Once she steps outside, she joins the conversation and merrily tells about some of the happiest times of her life.

Damus notices that Lucy is just as dedicated to Natsu and Happy as they are to her. It would be a tremendous tragedy if something were to ever come between them. But Damus doubts anything ever could with the way they look as they reminisce about their adventures. He gives a small smile at the trio as they walk towards their destination.

Reaching the guild they walk through the doors and head straight for the job request board.

"Since this is your first time, how about you pick the job?" Lucy motions toward the board.

"Okay, sure." Damus happily responds. When he was here yesterday during the tour he didn't get a chance to get a good look at the requests. There is every kind of job that Damus could imagine on this board; everything from fighting bandits, to finding lost cats, to stopping monsters, to translating a book, was spread all across the wide board.

One job in particular catches his eye and Damus reaches out to have a better look when a familiar feeling overcomes him. His vision soars into a tunnel of vibrant colors as it spirals through time. It always reminds him of an intense version of a kaleidoscope. The tunnel abruptly stops and Damus sees a woman with purple hair stepping out of a china shop named 'The Minotaur' and she is holding a shopping bag.

Damus begins to feel being pulled back and he sees the tunnel from before appear going backwards as he is sucked back into the present. His vision suddenly returns to him and he sees Natsu, Happy, and Lucy looking at him with wide eyes and slightly parted lips.

"What happened? Are you okay?" they ask. Damus gives them a big smile as Damus grabs the flier and hands it to them.

"I had a vision. I saw a women shopping and she was leaving a shop called 'The Minotaur'. I think it has something to do with this job."

"Is she going to get hurt?" Lucy asks timidly.

"I don't know. I guess we'll have to take the job to find out." His smile only widens when he sees them nod and walk over to the bar. Mira stamps it and gives them all of the necessary details. They decide to leave right away.

Excited is an understatement for how Damus feels right now. In fact, he's downright giddy.


	5. Chapter 5

**Hiro Mashima owns Fairy Tail and all corresponding characters. I only own the extra characters and plot.**

"So then we high tail it back to the china shop and there she is walking out! Just like Damus said she would!" Lucy says energetically as she motions with her hands towards Damus.

"That's amazing! Did she have the statue?" asks Wendy who was practically on the seat of her chair with anticipation.

"Yes! It was in the bag that she was carrying. Natsu and Damus almost plowed straight through her trying to grab the bag. She was a little hesitant at first but once we explained that it was absolutely necessary to see the statue, she let us look at it. And lo and behold the head popped right off and inside was the stolen diamonds! Needless to say she was stunned; she thought it was just an ordinary statue."

"I would be too if I just found out the statue I bought had diamonds in it," Gray adds.

Damus wraps up the story, "Anyway, we took the statue back to the owner and the statue gave us the proof to send the thieves away to prison. The owner of the diamonds was so overjoyed that he gave us our full reward; despite the fact that we destroyed his house, his son's house, and four shops along the way."

"My, my, what a story. You four sure have been busy," Mira says with a smile as she wipes a glass, "you should rest and recover some of your strength."

It's been almost a week since Damus has joined the Fairy Tail guild and a day since his first mission ended. It was exhilarating to say the least. First, Damus had his vision in front of the request board that led Team Natsu on the job in the first place and then throughout the job he continuously had visions. At first it was seemingly unrelated occurrences but after four days everything started to link together and it made the job a hell of lot easier. Damus must have had at least half dozen visions during the whole trip. In the end, they caught the thieves and they came home. Damus was able to pay off his down payment on his apartment and Damus had his uncle send him most of his stuff. Today they are relaxing and recounting the story to some of the guild members at the bar.

Damus has been lost in his own thoughts for most of the day. His visions are supposed to happen randomly but now he's not so sure. Maybe his powers are getting stronger and they appear more often? Maybe it's because he's around more people and thus he's more susceptible to more futures? Maybe _he's_ getting stronger and he can, finally, have some control over them? Or maybe they _are_ just random and it's a HUGE coincidence that he got so many within such a short period of time. It's too soon to tell.

"It was so awesome! Everything he said came true! Even the details were accurate!" Natsu exclaimed excitedly. He still hasn't been able to wrap his head around how all of Damus' visions came true.

"It was just luck," Damus attempts to sound humble.

"Do all of your visions always come true?" Mira asks with a slight tilt of her head.

"No, not always. But it's only because I, or whoever, changes them."

"I understand. You make your own future. That is very courageous of you," Erza praises his actions.

"Thanks Erza."

Gray looks at a clock before standing up and gestures to Wendy as they walks to Erza's side, "Hey Erza, we should get going."

"Yes, you're right. Let's go." Erza says firmly.

Natsu, Lucy, Happy and Damus turn to look at Erza, Gray, Wendy and Carla. "Where are you guys going?" Lucy asks.

"We have taken a job." Erza states, "I thought that since you just got back that you would want to rest but you are welcome to join us if you wish."

They look at one another before Lucy shakes her head, "No, we're fine. But thanks for offering."

"Very well, we'll be leaving." Erza does a quick spin on her heels and strides out the door with Gray and Wendy jogging to catch up to her.

Left to their selves, Team Natsu begins to talk about the highlights of our job together. The bar suddenly begins to get busy so they leave to sit down at a table and continue their reminiscing. They are laughing at how Happy almost got ate by a tuna when Damus feels his body still itself. His vision becomes slightly hazed as the familiar tunnel of speeding rainbow colors sails past him.

The tunnel abruptly stops and Damus sees Natsu and Lucy inside an empty room with a single door. Lucy is yelling at Natsu. She looks angry. No, angry doesn't cut it. She looks furious. There are tears running down her cheeks, her hair is in disarray and her fists are tightly clenched. Natsu looks completely broken as he stands there silently listening to Lucy. His whole body is shaking and he looks like he hasn't showered or changed his clothes in the past week. His eyes are red and puffy; probably due to lack of sleep and crying for hours on end.

"How could you do this to me?! How could you tell me something like that?! If you cared about me you should never have told me! You should have just not said or done anything!"

"I told you because you're my partner and I don't want to lose you." He tells her meekly.

She points a shaking finger at him, "I don't want to be your partner! Alright?! Not now, not ever!" She throws her hand out to the side.

"But Luce…" Natsu chokes on a deep sob.

"Stay away from me! Just leave me alone!" She screams before tightly spinning around and running out the door.

Natsu lunges forward trying to reach her but she slams the door in his face. He runs his hand down the door before pressing his back against the wood and slowly sliding down until he sits on the floor. He leans his head against the door as strangled cries erupt from his throat and his body starts shaking worse than before. His eyes lack every ounce of light, happiness, and love that was ever in them. Something shattered inside of him and now he's dead on the inside.

The edges of the bright tunnel shimmer as Damus is pulled away from the crying Natsu. Once Damus regains his normal vision he sees Lucy, Natsu, and Happy looking expectantly at him.

"What did you see?" Lucy asks with a smile as she leans forward. Natsu mimics her actions waiting for his response.

Damus stares at her. How can this smiling, happy girl turn into the angry, crying mess that he saw? "Lucy…you…" Damus hesitates as he looks between the two best friends. How can he tell them? How can he tell them that their friendship is going to end? He…he can't. He just can't.

"What is it Damus?" Lucy asks worriedly.

"Was it about fish?!" Happy jumps up.

"Uh…yeah. Yeah." Damus gives a small nod, "I saw Lucy cooking fish tomorrow night for dinner."

"That's it?" Lucy deadpans at the huge letdown.

"What kind of fish?! Was it big and juicy?!" Happy practically yells in his excitement.

Damus turns his face away from him, "I-I don't know, I didn't get a good look at it."

In his anticipation Happy turns to Lucy, "What kind of fish are you going to cook?"

"I don't know you stupid cat! I'm not the one who sees the future!" She yells with irritation spread across her features.

"But you are cooking right?"

"I just said that I don't know!"

"Well you gotta cook something. Damus says so." He puts his furry little paws on hips and acts as if he just won the biggest argument of the century.

"I don't have to do anything Damus says," Lucy huffs as she crosses her arms over her chest.

Natsu decides to agree with Happy, "But Luce, he saw it so it has to come true."

"No it does not!"

"Yes it does," Natsu lies his head on his arms and gives Lucy a big goofy grin, "So whatcha gonna cook for us?"

Damus zones out the argument as he thinks about what he should do. Should he tell them? Would they believe him if he did? Probably not. They're so close right now that any suggestion of them not being friends seems impossible. Especially when Damus has no idea what they will be fighting about. But even if they don't believe him, they deserve to know what could happen _because_ they are best friends. Right? Right. He should tell them. Natsu will probably listen and believe him without any problems. The only one he's worried about is Lucy.

Her voice loops through his memory, " _How could you do this to me?!_ _How could you tell me something like that?! If you cared about me you never should have told me! You should have just not said or done anything!"_ She seemed adamant that she didn't want to hear whatever Natsu will tell her. Will she respond the same way to him? Since him and her are not as close as her and Natsu, she might not be as emotional. No, she will be. She treats everyone equally; it's one of her best qualities. Which brings him back to his question, should he tell her? He doesn't know.

Maybe he can ask Natsu? Yeah, he'll tell him first and then ask him about Lucy. Damus swore to himself that he would protect and grow his happiness alongside everyone else in this guild. That should also apply to everyone else's happiness too. If he can help, he should.

"Damus, you in there?" a voice calls out to me.

"Huh? What?" Damus looks at the speaker.

"Are you hungry? We're going to go get something to eat." Happy repeats his question.

"Oh, oh yeah. I'll come." Damus stands up and walks behind the small group as they walk out of the guild laughing. It's hard to believe that the happy group could potentially be so sad and angry in the near future. He has a bad feeling in the pit of my stomach and he can only hope that it will go away once he talks to Natsu.

* * *

"Come fishing with us, it'll be fun," Natsu goads Lucy after she yells at him and Happy to get out of her apartment. Ever since Damus had his vision yesterday Happy and Natsu have been looking forward to Lucy's "mystery" dinner tonight. She said yesterday night that she wasn't planning on cooking fish, or cooking at all for that matter, but if they wanted fish then they would have to bring it. So they decided to go fishing today instead of going to the guild. Of course they had to stop by and ask if she wanted to come with them. It wouldn't be as much fun without her.

"No. I don't want to go out in the slimy, dirty woods were there are bugs and other creepy crawlies," she crosses her arms over her large chest.

"Alright, suit yourself. Let's go Happy." Natsu says as he leaps up onto the windowsill and out the window with Happy flying behind him.

"For the last time, use the door!" she yells out her window as they walk towards the East Forest. Once they reach their spots on the small bank of their favorite fishing hole they throw their lines in the water and wait. After a while, if they don't have any bites, they pull the lines in and throw them in a different spot. They repeat this same routine for the next several hours. By the end of the day, Happy and Natsu have caught nine fish in total.

As they make their way back to Lucy's house for dinner, they run into Damus. "Hey Natsu!" Damus waves as he walks up to them.

"Hey Damus! You going to Lucy's apartment?"

"For dinner? Yeah." Damus replies with a smile.

"Cool," Natsu returns the gesture with a smile of his own.

As they walk to their destination Damus asks Natsu, "Where were you today?"

"We were fishing," Happy says as he holds up a weird looking fish.

Damus' face morphs into one of semi-disgust. "We're not eating that are we?" he asks.

"Yep, they're super yummy!"

"Riiiiiiiight, well you can have that one. Anyway, after dinner I need to talk to you Natsu. It's important."

Natsu turns to look at him, "About what?"

He shakes his head, "Not here, it will take some time to explain."

Natsu frowns at his answer but still nods, "We can go to my house after we eat."

He gives a small nod before adding, "And please don't mention anything to or in front of Lucy." Natsu's eyebrows scrunch in confusion and he is about to ask why when Damus cuts him off, "You'll understand when we talk. Just, please." His frown deepens but he doesn't push the issue. They continued to walk the rest of the way in tense silence.

Dinner was great; Lucy is one of the best cooks ever. Throughout their stay Natsu could tell something was off with Damus even though he tried to hide it. _Whatever he needs to talk about must be really serious_ , Natsu thinks to himself. It was getting late so the trio decides to leave and go home. Damus follows slightly behind Natsu and Happy as they talk about all of the yummy fish Lucy made.

Once they get to Natsu's house, Damus walks inside and stands in the middle of the room. Natsu stands in front of the closed door while Happy flies over and sits on the couch. "So whatcha wanna talk about?"

Damus looks at Natsu anxiously, "You might want to sit down."

Tired with all of the waiting and the suspense, Natsu huffs, "What is all this? You made me wait all through dinner; just tell me."

Damus swallows. "It's about you and Lucy…"

The second he says Lucy, Natsu's whole body perks up. "What's wrong?"

"Nothing. Right now, anyway."

"Huh?"

Damus takes a deep breath before continuing, "I lied about my vision yesterday. It wasn't about Lucy cooking fish for dinner; it was about something else."

He then tells Natsu and Happy everything that he saw yesterday. About Lucy yelling and screaming, her running away from him, and how he cried. Everything. The more he talked the more Natsu's heart broke. At the end of story Natsu could only stare at his green haired friend.

 _She won't want to be my partner anymore? Why? What do I do?_ Natsu tilts his head down so his hair covers his eyes.

"I wanted to tell you before I told Lucy because I'm not sure about how she'll react. I thought I knew but then I think about how she was yelling in the vision and now I'm not so sure. So I was hoping I can get your opin-"

"No." It comes out much harsher than Natsu realizes.

Damus raises his eyebrows at him, "No? What do you-"

Natsu jerk his head up and glares at him, "I said no. I won't lose her. She can't just leave!" Natsu's fists clench into tight balls and his voice rises higher. "You said that you can change the future, right? Well that's exactly what I'm going to do! That vision you saw, it will never come true! I swear my life on it!" Natsu has never been more serious about anything in my life and Natsu can see on Damus' face that he believes every word he said.

"How?"

"I'll prove to her that I'm the best partner ever. Then she'll never want to leave the team."

Damus looks at Natsu for a few minutes before giving him a big smile, "And I'll help you. Whatever you need me to do, or not to do, I'll do it."

"Me too," Happy interjects with a paw raised in the air.

"Thanks guys. We'll start tomorrow." They look hard at each other and nod their heads in agreement.

* * *

Lucy slowly opens the doors to the guild and cautiously peeps inside. If she sees a hint of pink, she is running for the hills. She sees an array of colors: black, blue, brown, and yellow but no pink. Thank god, he's not here yet.

Lucy slowly walks inside and does a quick double-take around her. If he suddenly pops out from around some kind of corner she needs to be ready to run for it. Most of the regulars and a few of the other guild members are scattered around the guild but no Natsu. Perfect _._

Deciding that she needs something cold to drink she walks over to the bar. Lucy sits in the middle of the bar and Laxus, the only other occupant of a barstool, sits two seats away from her on her left. They exchange their typical 'good mornings' before Mira comes to take her order.

"What can I get you Lucy?" she asks with a smile.

As Lucy open her mouth she hear the doors swing open. Her body freezes on the spot and her eyes go wide. Lucy prays to whatever higher power may be listening, _Please don't be Natsu. Please don't be Natsu. Please don't be Natsu._ Her head stiffly spins around to look at the person who just entered the guild. It's an older man and woman who walk towards one of the other guild members. She releases the huge breath she was didn't realize she was holding and turns back towards the bar.

Mira is looking at her with raised eyebrows and slightly parted lips, "Is something the matter Lucy?"

"Can I have a strawberry milkshake first? Please?" Lucy asks in a worn out tone.

"Sure. Give me a few minutes," she says and then walks off into the kitchen.

Lucy turns her attention towards the door once more and scopes out the guild. She is not going to spend the day with them again. And they are definitely not going to drag her on another job. Nope. Not going to happen. The kitchen door opens and Mira's footsteps become louder. As Lucy turns around she sees Laxus looking at her with a raised eyebrow and a questioning look. She gives him a lopsided smile as Mira sits her milkshake in front of her and asks her, "Are you looking for someone?"

"Yeah, I'm keeping an eye out for Natsu and Happy. If you see either one of them come in please tell me so I can get out of here before they see me," Lucy begs the beautiful bar maid. Neither one of them sees Laxus raise his eyebrows in surprise.

Mira's eyes widen and she leans on the counter with her forearms, "Sure but why? Are you avoiding them or something?"

"Yeah, big time," Lucy whines. "Natsu, and by extension Happy, has been sticking to me like glue lately. He hasn't left me alone at all for almost two weeks now. I'm hoping that I can avoid him today and finally have some peace and quiet."

Clearly very interested in the development on their relationship Mira coos, "Why hasn't he left you alone?"

Lucy laid her head on the counter and her voice mimics her irritated attitude toward the fire dragon slayer, "I don't know. One day he's perfectly fine and then the next he's all clingy. It's driving me up the wall."

A thoughtful expression crosses Mira's face, "Tell me what happened."

Lucy sighs and look at her milkshake as she tries to decide where to begin. "Alright, you know that first mission Damus, Natsu, Happy, and I went on? The one with the stolen diamonds. Well, two days after the job ended Natsu started acting weird. He started acting all clingy, overprotective, and presumptuous. Like he knows exactly what I want without having to ask me about it. If I needs something he immediately gets it for me. Sometimes he even brings me things that I doesn't even want. And if something has even a sliver of danger attached to it, like a knife to slice vegetables, he immediately comes and takes it away and says it's too dangerous for me. I knows it sounds great and all but it really isn't. I like being independent and being able to do things by myself and not have someone wait on me hand and foot. He won't let me do anything anymore!

"But the worst part is that he _never_ leaves me alone. He's always within an arm's reach of me or has his arm around my shoulders. And he's always asking what I want to do or if I need anything every two minutes; 'Do you want to go on a job?', 'Whatcha doing?', 'Do you need any help?', 'Why can't we do something together?', 'What are you thinking about?', 'Why do you do that?', 'What do you want to do?' and the list goes on and on and on. The most annoying thing he does is when I go to bathroom. If I take longer than a few minutes he comes knocking on my door asking if I need help. I mean what sane person does that?!" Lucy throws her hands up in the air.

Too engross in their conversation, they both miss how Laxus nearly chokes on his beer at the bathroom part.

The irritation in her voice grows the more she continues, "At first I didn't think anything about it because I thought him and Happy just made a stupid bet of who can annoy me the most. The day after he started acting weird, he demanded for me to take the job with him, Happy, and Damus. It was the one where we had to save the town from the bandits."

"The one you guys took a week and a half ago? Yeah, I remember that job."

"Well they found the bandits and it should have been simple; we split up and each take out a section on the group. But Natsu didn't want to do that. He thought he had to take care of all of the bandits for some stupid reason. Of course since Natsu couldn't control himself, he burned down the whole town and almost me with it. To make matters we lost our entire reward.

"We got back home the next day and all I wanted to do is to relax and forget about the stupid job he dragged me on but no. Natsu decided that they needed to spend some 'quality team time' together and spent the night at my apartment. All night he talked about the jobs that we have gone on and how much fun they were. It was nice at first but when I wanted to go to sleep he wanted to stay up and talk some more. It took me an hour to convince him to let me go to sleep. So the next day came and he woke me up with a job flier in his hand. He told me he already has the next job for us and throws some of my stuff in my suitcase. The next thing I knew, he was dragging me to the train station in my pajamas and everyone was staring at me. It was so embarrassing."

Mira puts a finger to her chin in thought, "Was that the request for exploring the ruins?"

"Yep. And don't even get me started on what went wrong with that job. All that really matters is that we didn't get the reward for that one either."

"Did Damus go with you guys? I can't remember."

"No, he went on a weeklong mission with Erza, Gray and Wendy. They wanted to see his summonings."

"Oh that's right, I remember now. They should be back in a couple of days. Anyway, please continue."

"So we get back after the disastrous four days and guess what Natsu decided to do. That's right; he wanted to spend some more 'quality team time' together. I told him that I wanted to spend some time alone but he told me that 'You don't really want that' or something along those lines. Who is he to tell me what I want?! I got mad at him and tried to Lucy Kick him out of my apartment but he dodged it and refused to leave. I yelled at him to tell me why he was bothering me so much but all he did was avoid the question and change the subject. For the rest of the day I kept trying to get him to tell me what was going on but he wouldn't so I gave up. So the next morning arrived and guess what Natsu has in his hand when he arrives on my doorstep."

"A flier?"

Lucy hold up two fingers, "TWO fliers for TWO jobs! In a row! I told him that I wasn't going to go but did that stop him from bothering me? Oh no, of course not. After three hours of his constant pestering, I finally gave in and packed my suitcase. Each job would only take two days at max and they would go to the second right after they got done with the first so it took a total of four days. The good news was that he picked out two jobs that were easier and, according to him, 'something I would have picked'. We got back last night and he stayed over, again." Lucy lies her forehead down on the cool wood after her long rant.

"Did you get any of the reward money?"

"Yeah, some, but I still need another four-thousand jewel to cover my rent. All I want to do is relax today and take a short job tomorrow. No Natsu. No Happy. They're my best friends and everything but I need some space every now and then too."

"And they still won't tell you why their staying so close to you?"

"Nope. Not a word. Every time I ask either one of them they laugh and say nothing's wrong and that their just being my great teammates. Whatever that means."

"Hmmmm," Mira straightens her back, "Maybe he is just trying to impress you?"

"Pfffft, why would he do that?"

Mira gives her a sickly sweet smile, "Oh, I don't know. It's probably because he likes you." She gives her a wink.

"Uhhh," Lucy groans to herself. "Don't start Mira. I'm not in the mood today."

Mira slightly chuckles, "It's okay Lucy, I'm sure everything will work ou-"

"Hey Luce! Why didn't you wake me up before you came to the guild? I would have walked with ya," says the source of her foul mood as he throws his arm over her shoulders for the thousandth time. Dammit, she forgot to keep an eye out for him. Any hope Lucy had for some solitude today goes up in smoke.

"You would have taken too long and I wanted to come in early," Lucy murmurs darkly as she shoves his arm off.

"What's the matter? Are you sick? Do you need some medicine?" Natsu leans his body closer to her.

"No." Lucy glances at Mira to see her looking at her with an apologetic look.

"Are you sure?" He presses her.

"Yes, I am sure." Lucy says as she barely contains the urge to yell at him.

"Hey how about we go on a job?" he asks excitedly. "You still need some rent money."

"Not today Natsu, I just want to relax," she hisses lowly at him.

"Okay! What do you want us to do? We can go for a hike or go fishing. Oh I know! We can train together. That will be a lot of fun and it's perfect for partners like us," he attempts to put his arm back onto her shoulders but she leans out of his reach.

"Leave me alone Natsu. I want to be by myself today."

Lucy doesn't see the split second of fear cross Natsu's eyes before he hides it with a big grin, "You don't mean that Luce. You want to hang out with me and Happy."

 _There he goes again! He has no right to tell me what I want! That's it, I can't take it anymore!_ "Look he-"

"Hey Natsu, Gajeel just called you a punk ass," Laxus suddenly cuts her off.

"He said what?! Where is he?!" he yells at Laxus.

Laxus flips his thumb over his shoulder to the table where Gajeel sits with Levy and Lily. Natsu turns back towards Lucy, "Don't move. I'll be right back. I gotta go teach him a lesson." He walks off as he cracks his knuckles, "Let's go metal head!" And with that sentence a brawl soon engulfs the whole guild.

Shocked in disbelief, her eyes follow Laxus as he stands up and starts towards the door. As he walks slightly past her he stops and looks down at her with his typical indifferent look. "Don't let Natsu get to you. He's an idiot. _He_ probably doesn't even know why he's bugging you. Try ignoring him, that's what I do."

What he says catches her completely off guard. Laxus distracting Natsu for her and then giving her advice? This is a day for the history books.

"Thank you, I'll think about it." It's the only thing Lucy can manage at the moment.

He turns around and while carefully avoiding the flying bodies, chairs, and tables, he heads out the door. Lucy never stops watching him until the last speck of his fur lined coat is out of sight. "Where is he going?" Lucy wonders aloud to herself.

"He has a mission with the Thunder God Tribe," Mira says kindly, "He'll be back in a couple of days." Lucy looks at her surprised; she didn't realize that she was listening to her.

Lucy glances back at the doors and a sudden thought hits her. _He must have heard my conversation with Mira. Why else would he have known that I was irritated with Natsu?_ Her head automatically falls into her hands and she groans. Whining to Mira about her problems is one thing but knowing Laxus heard it? He must think she is some crybaby who complains about every little thing. God, it's humiliating. But then again he did help her. Maybe she should take his advice.

No. She can't just ignore Natsu. That would be too mean; even though he has be a real pain in the neck lately. Lucy looks at the brawl that is losing momentum and spots a flying patch of pink hair. _Maybe he'll be more normal tomorrow._

After the fight breaks up Natsu returns back to her side. They spend the rest of the day together at the guild talking to different people. Well, Lucy tries to talk to different people while Natsu buts into every conversation. He continuously asks her about what job they're taking next and tells her that he doesn't care what it is. Still hoping that he'll act like his normal self, Lucy tells him that they can go on one tomorrow. Near the end of the night Lucy scans the board for a quick job and she sees one in particular.

It asks for someone to research, sort, and file some paperwork for a small town newspaper. It pays twenty-thousand jewel and last for three days and two nights. Perfect. She can do this one by herself and Natsu won't have an excuse to destroy anything. Lucy brings it over to Natsu and tell him that this is the job she wants to go on tomorrow. He gives a pout and begins to complain about how boring it will be.

Lucy snatches it out of his hands, "Then don't come." He tells her all day that she can pick whatever job she wants and then when she do pick one, he complains about it?! She could Lucy Kick him all the way to the moon. That advice Laxus gave her is starting to sound like a really good idea.

He slightly panics; he quickly shakes his head and grabs her shoulders, "No, no, no! We'll go, we'll go." Lucy huffs in immense irritation and walks over to Mira to get it stamped.

As Lucy goes home, Natsu decides to keep her company for the night. Once again. Lucy tells him that he can't stay with her but he ignores her and stays with her anyway.

 _What is his problem?! That's it. I don't care how he acts tomorrow I am sick of how he's been treating me. If he's going to ignore me then I am going to ignore him. We'll see how he likes it._ Lucy plots against the intruder in her life.

* * *

Lucy thanks the gods for Natsu's motion sickness. As they ride on the train to their job's location it is the only time she has a moment's peace. Their job is in a little town a few hours away from Magnolia so the train ride isn't long but she is willing to take any amount of quiet she can have.

Once they get off though, everything starts to go south. Lucy hasn't spoken to Natsu or Happy for the entire day and they are trying to get her attention. Natsu throws his arm around her shoulder, grabs her wrist, constantly talks and asks her questions, and playfully teases her with his fire. Happy floats around her head, lands on her head, calls her names, and urges Natsu with his teasing. But Lucy stands fast in her resolve to not give them any of her attention.

The newspaper building is a large wooden building with several windows on both floors. There is a small door on the right side of the building that leads to a small foyer. In the back of the first floor is where the workshop is: it has printing presses, paper, ink, and stamps or all sizes, shapes, and colors. A staircase in the back of the building leads to the second floor where a desk sits next to the railing. In front of the desk are rows of bookshelves filled with papers, boxes, items, and books that extend to the front of the building.

They make their way into the building and ask for the person who sent out the flier. A manager comes out to greet them and escorts them through the building to the staircase and to the second floor.

"Your job is to organize our second floor. These papers," he points to a stack of papers, "need to go in a box with any relevant information, items, and articles. You research the events, log some of the details in the catalog, put everything in a box with the appropriate box number written on it, and then store the boxes away in chronological order. It's pretty simple. Any questions?"

"What if something can be placed into two different boxes?" Lucy inquires.

"Just make a note in the catalog that more info can be found in the other box. Anything else?"

"No, we understand."

"Alright then, get to work. If you have any questions or doubts about anything I'll be in my office downstairs."

The manager walks out of the room, leaving her alone with Natsu and Happy. Not wanting to give Natsu any time to talk to her, Lucy immediately grabs one of the papers and gets to work. Natsu asks what he can do but Lucy ignores him and go off to find the first set of items.

He follows her very closely and watches her every move. "Do you need any help Lucy? What can they do Lucy? What's that for?" he asks her every couple of minutes and every time she change bookcases.

 _Just ignore him, just ignore him,_ Lucy says to herself like a mantra. After some digging Lucy finds the appropriate items and bring them back to the desk. She catalogs the date of the event, a brief explanation of it, and the box number. She grabs an empty cardboard box, writes the number on it, and put the items inside. Lucy puts it aside and grabs the next sheet off of the desk. She looks up to find Natsu and Happy missing. Her eyes narrow in suspicion, _where did he go?_

Lucy gets up and go grabs the second set of things. Once she gets back she sees that Natsu and Happy have drug out an entire bookcase's worth of things and laid them around her desk. _You have got to be kidding me_. These two idiots have created a maze to her desk in what Lucy guesses is their attempt to help her. Lucy would tell them to stop but then she wouldn't be ignoring them. She steps over the different things and sits back down at the desk.

As Lucy works through the rest of the items, Natsu and Happy bring her random things that they think might help her. Of which they almost never do. But when Lucy does find some things that she needs in the random piles Natsu rushes to help her and ends up destroying his stack of balanced objects. She swears that if he breaks a single thing he is going to become very well acquainted with her foot

This pattern continues until lunch time when they go out to a diner. Natsu talks all about the different things he and Happy found while they eat. Lucy never says a word. They return back to work afterwards and continue where they left off.

As the day drags on Lucy realizes Natsu is trying more and more desperately to grab any part of her attention. And that only serves to bring her irritation to new levels. He constantly pesters her, brings her things she don't need and, eventually, plays with some of the things he has found throughout the bookcases. Once he comes back wearing a clown's nose, a diving suit, and a toupee, Lucy calls it quits for the day. The last thing she needs is for him to break something because he's trying to make her laugh. All she wants is for him to leave her alone so she can finish the job and go home with the rent money. Is that asking too much?

They go eat dinner at the same diner that they went to for lunch. Lucy walks out when it looks like Natsu is about to start a food fight with a total stranger. _I can't take much more of this. If he keeps this up I am going to strangle him!_ Lucy takes several deep breaths to calm herself down.

This whole ignoring thing is not working out. It's only making matters worse and more difficult. Maybe she has ignored him too much. It doesn't feel right not talking to Natsu. He's still her best friend, regardless of how much he annoys her. Maybe she can talk to him a little bit. Just enough to where he will know that she is listening to him but not answer all of his questions. Hopefully that'll work.

Finding a little hotel for the night, Natsu says that they need to share a room. Lucy doesn't argue with him and follows behind him. She's beat from organizing the boxes and dealing with Natsu all day. They have to get up early to be back at work so Lucy takes a quick bath, thanks to Natsu asking if she needs any help, and curls up in her bed. Sleep overtakes her within a few minutes.

* * *

The next day goes by the same way as the day previously but with the exception of her giving her two partners some instructions as to how they could _actually_ help her. They are both overjoyed at the realization that she is talking to them again and that increases their adherence to her. This, however, only serves to increase her irritation with them. Although the day goes by a little bit smoother than yesterday, progress is still hindered by Natsu and Happy's overzealousness and eagerness to help her. The manager comes to see how far they've gotten around noon.

"How's everything going in here?" the newspaper manager asks Lucy and her partners.

"Everything's coming along great," she says as she gives him a weak smile.

"Good to hear. If you have any questions, feel free to ask."

"Thank you very much."

He leaves them once more and they return back to work. They stop briefly for lunch after Natsu hounds her about being hungry. They return to the same diner as the day before; apparently he loves the place. Simple nods and shakes of her head is all that Lucy offers him as he asks her questions about the things she has been organizing.

Returning back to work, Lucy does a quick survey of their progress. She has gotten a little more than half done and the more she gets organized the easier it becomes. She should be able to get everything done by tomorrow. With that plan in her mind Lucy sets back to work.

Every so often Lucy orders Natsu and Happy to go fetch her some things from the bookshelves; only to have them return with the wrong stuff or nothing at all because they couldn't find them. So then she has to go find them and waste her time when she could be doing something more productive. After four hours of this constant interference she refuses to give them any more tasks. Since he doesn't have anything else to do Natsu looks over her shoulder with a frown.

"Can you go somewhere else?" Lucy asks in an irked voice.

"No, you might need some help. And that's what partners do; they help each other," he murmurs darkly.

"I can handle this much Natsu. I can't get anything done with you constantly hovering over me."

"I'm just trying to help you Lucy. Why do you have to be such a nag?" he snaps at her.

A vein pops out of her forehead. _A nag? I have to deal with you_ _pestering me, asking me 'How are you?', 'What are you doing?', 'Where are you going?', 'Is this what you need?' every five seconds, building and destroying a maze of worthless junk around my desk, breaking into my house, never leaving me alone, and I'm the nag?! I'll show you a nag!_ Lucy stands up and spins around to face him. Her mouth opens and closes as she tries to find the right words to express her emotions.

Out of the corner of her eye, Lucy glances at the tall stacks of numerous papers and items and remembers where she is. She's in the middle of a job; in the middle of a room with burnable and breakable objects. If they were to get into a fight right now, they could wind up destroying the whole building and her chance at paying her rent is lost. As Lucy carefully weighs the outcomes, she decides that it's not worth it. She can yell at him later.

Lucy stomps off towards the front of the building to get some distance between her and the fire breather. Her head is beginning to hurt and Lucy can feel numerous emotions starting to bubble up. Sadness, anger, confusion, irritation, and stress cloud her head and Lucy can feel tears start to form.

Why is he acting this way? Why won't he just tell her what's wrong? As Lucy tries to hold back the tears she looks out the window at the low sun. There is still a few more hours until the sun sets but one can definitely tell that it is getting late.

Sunlight highlights the different buildings and roads that are close to the newspaper building. It is a pretty sight and she would appreciate it more if she wasn't so upset. A familiar sight comes into view as Lucy looks at the main road in front of the building. Spiky blonde hair, a fur lined coat and a lightning bolt scar walk in front of a small group.

 _There's no way_ , Lucy thinks to herself. She rubs her eyes in an attempt to get herself to stop seeing things. As she looks back to where Lucy thought her imagination was playing a trick on her, she sees the small group walking down the road. _What are they doing here?_ _I thought they were on a job…_ Like a bullet out of a gun, an idea pops into her head. It might be her only chance.

Lucy runs towards the staircase only to be stopped halfway by a sorrowful Natsu, "Lucy, I'm sorry for wha-"

Lucy doesn't have time for this. She needs to think of an excuse, quick. "It's fine! Can you go get me a stack of papers? They're on the last bookcase on the left, in the middle. Thanks!" Lucy runs past him, leaving him gaping. That's the most she has said to him at one time in the past two days but she don't have time to think about that.

Once Lucy hits the stairs she takes two at a time and then sprints through the factory. The door slams open as she pushes through it with the force of her running. Lucy comes to a dead stop and looks around frantically for any hint of blonde, green, or brown hair.

Off to her left, with their backs turned to her, they are walking down the road. Lucy starts running towards them. If she doesn't catch him now, she doesn't know if she can finish this job. The emotional build up inside of her pushes her forward without thought of the future consequences of her plan. Reaching the halfway point between them and the newspaper building Lucy calls out, "Laxus! Laxus! Please wait!"

Laxus and the Thunder God Tribe stop and look around before finally spotting her. They wait for her to reach them with confused and surprised looks on their faces. It is pretty obvious that they were not expecting to see her here but she doesn't care about that right now. The only thing she cares about is talking to the one person who can fix her problem: Laxus.

"Lucy, what are you doing here?" Evergreen asks with raised eyebrows.

"On…a job," Lucy huffs out between breaths.

"Has something happened? Do you need you our assistance?" Freed asks in his sophisticated voice.

"Yes…I need…Laxus' help," Lucy says before she inhales a deep breath.

"What's wrong? Are you hurt?" Freed starts asking as his voice becomes serious.

"No, I'm fine-"

"Where's Natsu?" Bickslow asks as he looks around the for the fire dragon slayer.

Lucy points towards the building she just ran out of, "He's in there, that's wha-"

"You look like you're about to cry," Evergreen says as she stares at Lucy's face.

"I'm fine really, ple-"

"You don't look fine. Did Natsu do this or was it someone else?" Evergreen continues in a concerned voice.

A sniffle escapes Lucy's mouth and the Thunder God Tribe goes into panic mode. They bombard her with questions left and right as they surround her. "When did this happen?", "Did Natsu do this or not?", "Are there any hostages?", "How many of them are there?", "Are you sure you're not hurt?" Lucy holds up her hands to put some space between the worried mages and herself.

"Shut up!" Laxus suddenly yells over his teammates voices. "Let her talk." He moves to stand in front of Lucy and looks down at her. She looks up at him with wide eyes. "What's wrong?" he asks.

His face is neutral looking with his relaxed eyebrows and downturned lips but his eyes say something different. Concern softens the corners and gives a subtle, caring look to his face. He still looks very powerful but he also seems protective. It's a wonderful look on him and not one that he shows very often to anyone. Her heart clenches at the thought that she is special enough for him to look at her that way. She is sure that he will help her.

Lucy closes her eyes and inhales a deep breath to calm her nerves. _Here goes nothing._ She gives him the best serious look she can muster, "I need your help. Please, you're the only one who can help me."

His features change to mimic her seriousness, "What do you need me to do?"

A sickly sweet smile unconsciously spreads across her lips as Lucy lays it on him, "Can you knock Natsu unconscious for me?"


	6. Chapter 6

**I want to give a special thank you to everyone who reviewed me. I really appreciate your kind words and it really helps me to want to write this story when I know others like reading it. I also want to thank everyone who has followed and favorited this story so far. Alas, school has started once more and my time will be divided for a while so please excuse any tardiness on my behalf. Thanks for reading and please review!**

 **Hiro Mashima owns Fairy Tail and all corresponding characters. I only own the extra characters and plot.**

Laxus doesn't think he heard that right. Lucy - sweet, kind, loving, happy, doesn't want to fight, partner of Natsu - Lucy, could not have possibly asked him to knock anyone's lights out. Better yet, Natsu's lights. It's just impossible. Maybe it's just this constant headache he has around her that made him think that she said that.

"Huh?" Laxus asks with a frozen dumbstruck face. His eyebrows are raised, mouth slightly dropped, and eyes wide as he openly gapes at her.

The sly smile never leaves her lips. "Can you knock Natsu unconscious for me? Please?"

She's serious. She's really serious. Laxus blinks his eyes twice in a heavy motion as he tries to wrap his head around her question. Why would she ask him to do something like this? Is she that angry with Natsu? Laxus knows she's been annoyed with the guy lately; he learned that much when he overheard her conversation with Mira the other day. But he didn't think it was bad enough for her to ask him to step in. Not that he won't. A beautiful girl asks for his help and it's to knock out a guy who repeatedly irritates him? Why the hell would he ever turn down an opportunity like that?

She curls her hands on top of her chest as her smile slightly falters, "I know it's sudden but it would really help me."

Freed, Bickslow, and Evergreen are shocked white with their shoulders and back slumped forward. Each of their eyes, skin, and clothes have lost all of their color. Their jaws are only an inch above the ground and Bickslow's tongue has rolled out of his mouth and is lying on the ground. None of them have moved a muscle since Lucy asked her unbelievable question.

Having the biggest amount of consciousness between his three teammates, Freed somehow manages to squeak out the question that they're all thinking, "Why?"

Lucy looks away from their unblinking gazes. "I took your advice Laxus. The one you gave me about Natsu. I tried to ignore him but it only made things worse." She sniffs before timidly looking back at him with her big, brown eyes. Her pupils are dilated and moisture has gathered along her lower eyelid and threatens to spill over at any moment. The corners of her eyes are pulled down and give her face a sorrowful, pleading demeanor. "We're on a job right now and I don't know how much more of his attitude I can take. Every time I ignore him, he seems to want my attention more. All I want to do is finish the job so I can pay off my rent but I can hardly do anything without getting upset and slowing down the job. I don't want to get into a fight with him either because I'm afraid he'll break something. That's why I need you to knock him out since you're the only one strong enough to actually be able to do it. If he's unconscious then he can't bug me and I can get some work done. Please Laxus, I really need this money and I can't do it without your help."

Seeing the desperation in Lucy's eyes brings Laxus out of his stupor and his heart clenches in his chest. She looks so sad and he is not sure if it's because she has to ask him to do this or because Natsu made her feel this way. It doesn't matter because he is going to give Natsu a beating either way. For both her sanity and his enjoyment.

The Thunder Legion finally comes back to their senses and Freed's voice catches both of their attention. "Are you sure you wish for Laxus to do that Lucy? I can cast an enchantment that restrains and soundproofs Natsu instead if you would prefer."

She gives Freed a small smile, "Thanks for the offer Freed but I would rather Laxus take care of Natsu. It's not that I doubt your abilities. I would just rather see Natsu get clunked over the head." Laxus has to stop himself from letting a chuckle out at Lucy's answer. She must really be mad at him. Freed gives her a weird look but nods his head.

A smirk spreads across Laxus' face and his eyes lift at corners to showcase his joy at the prospect of hitting Natsu for a valid reason. "Right now?"

"I-if it wouldn't be too much trouble," she hesitates.

Laxus gives her a nod, "Alright. Where is he?"

Lucy' face lights up and the moisture in her eyes disappear, "You'll help me? Thank you so much! Oh, and if you could do it so he's out for at least a few hours that would be awesome."

This time Laxus can't help but chuckle before replying, "I'll hit 'em extra hard then."

A small giggle rises from her throat and a light shines in her eyes for the first time since she's run up to them. She points to a big wooden building a little ways away, "He in the-"

"Lucy! There you are! We've been looking for you!" two voices shout in the direction she is pointing.

"Speak of the devil," Evergreen says as Natsu runs up to the group with Happy flying behind him.

"Lucy!" they yell again as they reach them. "Is everything okay? Where did you go? You should have told us where you were going in case something happened to you."

Lucy's face grows stiff and she crosses her arms. Laxus don't want her to get upset again so he steps into the conversation. "Natsu, leave Lucy alone."

Natsu turns to look at him confused, "What? Why?"

Laxus takes a couple of steps to stand in between him and Lucy. "Because I said so."

Natsu continues to look at Laxus like he just grew a second head until an idea pops into that empty space he calls a brain. "Do you want to fight?! Awesome! I'm all fired up!" He says as he cracks his knuckles and drops into a fighting stance.

The Thunder Legion and Lucy deadpan at his stupidity and Laxus don't argue with him. He did just give him a great opening after all.

"Here I come!" he yells as he lunges at Laxus with a flaming fist.

It's always the same shit with him. A second after he jumps Laxus concentrates his lightning magic to his balled fist. Once Natsu gets within his arms reach, Laxus throws a right hook and strikes him on the top, right side of his head. The impact overwhelms him instantly and he slams face first into the ground with a crash. The hit knocks him unconscious before he even hits the pavement. Laxus straightens up and looks down at his "opponent". His face is morphed into one of exaggerated shock and pain as he twitches from his discharged lightning. Both of his arms are outstretched and a foot hangs limp in the air. It's almost comical.

"Natsu? Are you ok?" Happy lands near his partner's head and lays a paw on the rapidly growing bump that is sprouting from where Laxus hit him. Natsu, of course, gives no response.

A small giggle behind him pulls his attention away from the pink haired fighter. Laxus looks over his shoulder to find a shaking Lucy with her fingertips over her mouth in an attempt to stifle her onslaught of laughter. The scene brings a smirk to his mouth and a jolt of approval through his body. She looks up at him with eyes filled with contained mirth and gives him a wide smile. "Thank you," she whispers low enough so only Laxus can hear it. Composing herself, she walks around him to tend to a now crying, worried Happy.

"He'll be fine Happy, he always is," she says as she crouches down beside him. "How about some fish? Would that cheer you up?"

Happy looks up at Lucy with big, wet eyes and asks in a small voice, "What kind of fish?"

Lucy kindly smiles at him and she tilts her head to the side as she replies, "Any kind you want."

His lip slips into a quivering pout, "A tuna?"

Lucy's eyes deadpan. She nods her head and Happy's attitude does a one-hundred and eighty degree turn. _This cat is such a player_ , Lucy swears internally.

She stands up and turns back towards Laxus and his team, "Thanks again for everything, I really appreciate it."

"It's no big deal. Do you need anything else?" Laxus asks.

"Nope, I'm set for now." she says cheerfully.

"Alright, we'll be going then," Laxus turns around and starts to walk toward the train station. His team quickly falls in behind him and Laxus hears Lucy yell out a goodbye. After a few minutes Laxus looks over his shoulder to see her standing in front of one of her spirits.

It's the bull guy. Taurus, Laxus thinks is his name. He is an extremely tall, muscular, humanoid bull. His coat is white with black spots dotted over his body. A gold septum hangs from his nose and a gigantic axe is carried on his back. The only thing he wears is a black speedo with a hole for his tail and, ironically enough, leather boots and a leather belt for his axe.

She points to Natsu and he picks the pink haired mage up and slings him over his shoulder. He then turns to walk toward the building Natsu ran out of earlier. Happy and Lucy walk in the opposite direction to some shops. _She looks like she has everything under control._

His team and Laxus walk in silence to the train station. Laxus never would have thought Lucy would have the gall to have Natsu put down like he was; it shocked the hell out of him. Lucy is a very sensible person most of the time but Laxus guesses that even she loses her patience every once in a while. Putting up with the fire breather for as long as she has is a testament of her patience. He knows he couldn't manage one hour of what she does every day. For that, she has his respect. Once they reach the ticket vendor they purchase four tickets for the next train to Magnolia and start towards their platform.

"Do you think Cheerleader is going to be okay?" Bickslow asks all of the sudden. "Cheerleader, Cheerleader," each of his totems chirps after him. Laxus huff out of his nose at Bickslow's nickname for Lucy.

"Why wouldn't she be? Laxus already knocked Natsu out so he can't bother her anymore," Evergreen states matter-of-factly.

"Yeah, right now," he says as he crosses his arms. "Right now, right now"

Laxus stops and face the Seith mage, "What do you mean?"

"Well I was just thinking. Natsu can't bother her right now because he's watching the bluebirds, right? But what's going to happen when he wakes up? Won't he just go back to bothering her?" Bickslow wonders aloud. "Bluebirds, bluebirds," the totems say as they fly around his head in a circular motion.

Shit, Laxus didn't think about that. Hitting Natsu is only a temporary fix and Lucy needs a permanent one. The reason Lucy asked for his help in the first place is because of the advice that _he_ gave her. If he hadn't told her to ignore Natsu then Natsu wouldn't have caused her more trouble. So if he wakes up and he starts acting like a little shit because he lost their "fight" and because she's ignoring him then it's double Laxus' fault. She doesn't deserve to suffer for something that he caused; even if he caused it indirectly. A twinge of guilt hits his gut and Laxus looks down at his feet as he tries to think of a way to help her.

"It is the most likely outcome," Freed answers his teammate. "However, we must assume that Lucy will accomplish her necessary work in the time span of Natsu's unconsciousness."

"Yeah, I guess you're right." Bickslow sighs. "Right, right"

"Now, we need to hurry if we are going to catch the train," Freed states. The Thunder Legion start to walk toward their platform while Laxus stays rooted in his spot and continues to stare at his feet. Freed notices his absence, "Laxus, are you coming?"

 _I have to make sure she can finish her job._ "No, I'm not." Laxus turns to look at his team, "Go ahead without me, I'm going to stay here and make sure Natsu doesn't fuck anything up."

Bickslow gives him a shit eating grin, "This doesn't have anything to do with Cheerleader, does it?"

Laxus huffs at his implication, "Natsu is causing problems for a guild mate. I am just going to make sure that he doesn't ruin everything."

"It is very strange that you would check up on her though," Evergreen says behind her fan.

Laxus looks pointedly away, "Don't think too much into it."

"Oh, but Laxu-" she coos.

"I'll come back to the guild when Lucy gets finished," Laxus cut her off. She frowns at his rudeness.

Freed sighs, "Very well Laxus, if that is what you wish." He turns toward Evergreen and Bickslow, "Come on we have a train to catch."

As Laxus begins to walk back towards town Bickslow makes a crude comment. "I'm sure you can fix _all_ of Lucy's problems."

Laxus looks back to see him laughing with his pervy smile and his tongue hanging out. Evergreen takes her fan, hits him square across the nose, and tells him to stop being so disgusting. Laxus rolls his eyes at their antics and walks away.

It doesn't take long for him to reach the large wooden building that Lucy was pointing to earlier. Her, Natsu, and Happy's scents cover the area around the door so this must be the way they went. Laxus walks in to find some sort of manager organizing papers behind a desk.

"Is there a group of Fairy Tail mages working here?" Laxus asks the man directly.

"Huh? Can I help you?" he inquires.

Laxus pull up the left side of his shirt to show him his black Fairy Tail insignia on his left side, "They're friends of mine. I need to see them."

"Oh. Of course, follow me." He takes Laxus behind the desk and into the back. Strong odors of ink and paper assault his nose the second Laxus walks through the printing presses. They approach a staircase and he points to the second floor, "They're right up there."

Laxus grunts at him and walks up the stairs. As Laxus reaches the second floor, he looks around at the chaos that is spread out before him. Beside him is a desk with papers piled high on both sides, boxes on the ground at the far end, and a concentrated Lucy writing in a thick book. All around her are stacks, rows, and mounds of random objects that have a small pathway winding through them. _Natsu and Happy must have made this mess_ , Laxus thinks.

Speaking of Natsu, he is leaning in a chair by the window with his head back and his arms limp down his sides. Happy has a giant tuna, at least six times his size, on the ground in front of where he sits next to the pink haired mage. Where the hell they got that thing Laxus has no idea. Laxus moves to stand beside Lucy and waits for her to notice him.

She turns her head to look at a piece of paper and she sees his legs. "Ahhhh!" Lucy jumps in her chair and jerks her eyes up to his face. She puts her hand over her heart and takes a few deep breathes. "Laxus? What are you doing here?"

"I came to make sure Natsu doesn't bug you."

"Oh, okay…Wait, what? Natsu is already knocked out, how can he bug him?" she asks incredulously.

"When he wakes up."

"Oh…ohhhhhh," she slumps her head in realization. "I'm sorry Laxus; I didn't mean to make you stay. You don't have to if you don't want to, I'll manage somehow," she gives him a weak smile.

"No," Laxus states clearly.

"Really Laxus, you don't have to do this. I'm sure you have more important things to do than to stay here and help me," Lucy tries to talk Laxus out of his decision as he walks over to where Natsu sits unmoving and grabs him by the collar. Laxus yanks Natsu out of his chair and onto the floor. Lucy purses her lips together and squints her eyes in a face of pain as she hears Natsu crunch against the floor. Laxus takes the chair and repositions it in front of one of the numerous bookcases that line the room.

"No, not really. Go ahead and finish your work; just pretend that I'm not here," Laxus says as he pulls his Sound Pods out of his coat pocket.

Lucy looks conflicted as she looks between him and Natsu but after a few minutes she lightly nods her head before returning back to her desk. Laxus puts his headphones on, leans his chair against the bookcase, crosses his arms and legs, and closes his eyes. After a few random songs have played Laxus opens his eyes to watch Lucy work.

First she takes a piece of paper from one of the piles on the desk and reads over it. Then she gets up and walks among the bookcases looking for something. Sometimes she has to sift through the stacks of things around the desk. Every time something she needs is on the bottom of one of the piles, she puffs out her cheeks in irritation and throws a glare toward the unconscious Natsu. Laxus chuckles on this inside at her display; it reminds him of a cat who just got her tail yanked. She is angry but more in a playfully sort of way. It's cute the way she does it. Once she has found whatever she needs then she sits back down at the desk and writes some notes in that thick book he saw earlier. Finally she takes one of the cardboard boxes and carefully places everything inside to store with the rest of the, he is assuming, complete boxes.

After watching her do a few rounds Laxus closes his eyes again and gets lost in his music. He loses track of the time and what songs he has listened to when he feels a soft tap on his shoulder. Laxus open his eyes to see Lucy bending over him with her eyes wide and curious.

The view Laxus has is amazing. The bangs on the side of her head frame her face and give her an innocent look. But the rest of her is far from innocent. Her arms press her huge breasts together and up as her hands balance her weight against her slightly bent knees. The sides of her slim stomach curve inward before flaring outward over her round hips and perfect ass. Her incredibly short skirt shows off her tone and slim legs. God he loves looking at her. Hell, any man with a working dick loves looking at her.

Laxus turns off his music, "Hmm?"

"Um, what was the name of the song you were just listening to?" she asks softly.

His eyebrows shoot up in surprise. Laxus switches back to the previous song because he wasn't paying any attention earlier. A familiar sound of guitar notes hits his ears and Laxus immediately know what song it is. "More Than a Feeling by Boston," Laxus tells her. "Why do you ask?"

"I heard it a long time ago. It was one of my favorite songs but I never knew the name of it. Since I didn't know what it was called I never looked for it. Then I heard you play it and I realized that I can finally know what its name is." She pauses before she hesitantly asking him, "Um, can I listen to it again? Just once and then I'll give your headphones back."

Laxus blinks heavily at her twice. "Uh, sure," Laxus says in shock.

Her face lights up and her hands clap together as Laxus holds out his Sound Pods. She quickly takes them and jerks her body upwards to put them over her small ears. Strands of blonde hair fall over the black and gray metal as she positions them correctly. Laxus rewinds the song for her and hands her the music database. The music starts to play and her face radiates happiness. She shows him a smile that could only ever be made in times of pure joy and excitement; the sides of her eyes wrinkle, her eyes give off a brilliant shade of chocolate, and her cheeks rise as the corners of her mouth rise as well. Laxus can only gape at her as she practically skips back to her desk. As she continues to work, she has a wide smile on her face while she semi-dances to the music.

Laxus doesn't understand how it could happen. He has always loved his music but he never would have thought in a million years that Lucy could like it too. Now he doesn't know what to do with this new information.

She has successfully shocked him not once but twice in the same day and that shit doesn't happen to him. Usually Laxus would be angry that she keeps catching him off guard but he doesn't feel that way. Instead Laxus feels something completely different. His chest feels light and airy but also full at the same time. He has never felt this sensation before so he doesn't know how to react.

All he can think about is how she looks. She looks so incredibly happy. It's as if he just gave her the greatest gift in the world. The sight of her happiness and knowing that he somehow caused it takes his breath away. The feeling in his chest grows until Laxus has to forcefully tear his eyes away. _I don't want to deal with this right now._ Laxus takes deep breathes to gain his control back.

As the minutes pass, the song comes to the end. And, just like she promised, she promptly returns his headphones to him. "Thank you Laxus. I really enjoyed that," she says with that never-ending smile. Looking at her now, a person could never guess that she was on the verge of tears a few hours ago. His curiosity gets the better of him and Laxus starts to ask her where she heard that song before he is interrupted by a loud groan.

They look over to see Natsu on his hands and knees as he tries to stabilize himself. Laxus looks back to Lucy to see her joyful face replaced by one of apprehension. Laxus frowns at her mood change. He much prefers a happy Lucy to a worried Lucy. _Fucking Natsu, has to ruin everything._

"Happy? Lucy? What's going on?" Natsu mumbles almost incoherently.

Happy, who has been sleeping from a full stomach, is the first one to Natsu's aid, "Don't you remember? You got knocked out after we went to go look for Lucy."

"Where is Lucy?" Natsu asks frantically.

"I'm right here," she utters.

"Lucy! How are y-," he stops when his eyes land on Laxus. "What's he doing here?"

"He came here to help me Natsu," Lucy says simply. It's pretty obvious that she doesn't want to tell him the real reason why he is here.

"What?! That's why I'm here Lucy! We're partners and partners help each other! That's just what they do! I kept asking you how I could help you but you never said anything. So what makes him different?! You don't know him like you know me."

"Yes Natsu, that's true but…" she trails off. Her breathing and heartrate picks up as she tries to find the right words.

Laxus rises from his chair to stand beside the petite blonde woman. She hasn't moved and she seems very hesitant to do so. Guilt casts a shadow over her features as she watches her partner. Why does she feel guilty? He was bugging the crap out of her and she had to take measures into her own hands. She shouldn't have any bad feelings over that in his opinion. If she's worried about hurting his feelings then she shouldn't worry about that either. After everything he's done to her, the last thing she should care about is his feelings.

Laxus steps in for her, "Are you going to behave and leave Lucy alone Natsu? If you don't then there will be a repeat of earlier." Natsu is taken aback and Lucy spins her head around towards him. What he said must have been surprising to both of them.

Natsu gets angry, "How about _you_ leave her alone and stay out of _our_ business? I won't let you get a cheap shot in like last time and I certainly won't let you come between me and Luce! Neither one of us wants you here so why don't yo-"

"I asked him to punch you!" Lucy yells at Natsu in the middle of his threat. Both of the men look at her in surprise. "I asked him to punch you," she mumbles. Natsu looks completely shocked and dismayed at Lucy's sudden confession.

"I'm sorry Natsu but I couldn't take it anymore. I didn't know what else to do. You got so attached to me and wouldn't leave me alone for two seconds. Every time I would ask you for some space you wouldn't listen to a word I said. I felt overwhelmed. When I asked Laxus to hit you I was thinking of myself. Don't blame him, it was my decision. I'm very sorry but I thought was necessary. I just needed some breathing room."

Natsu tilts his head so his bangs cover his eyes. "Why?" he asks quietly.

Lucy stumbles over her words, "I just told y-"

"Why?!" Natsu looks up with anger, "What did I do that was so wrong?! All I tried to do was to help and protect you! That's the great thing about partners; they're there for one another! You're not supposed to purposefully hurt them!" Flames start to surround his arms as the intensity of his anger grows. "But no! You have to go behind my back and ask someone to have me knocked out! You're supposed to be nice! But all you did was be selfish!"

Happy moves behind the desk in fear. Lucy's eyes are wide open and her mouth opens and closes repeatedly, "Natsu pleas-"

"Shut up!" he shouts. A burst of fire expands from his body in an instant. The window explodes into a million pieces of sharp shards of glass onto the floor and into the street. Lucy and Laxus raise our arms in front of them against the rain of glass.

Natsu is getting too carried away; he could hurt Lucy if he's not careful. If it looks like he will hurt her then Laxus will have no choice but to come between them. Hopefully that won't happen.

"All you tell me is how everything I do is wrong or too much! Even though I try to do everything exactly how you want it done, it still isn't good enough! What do I have to do to prove to you that I just want to be good enough for you?!" He throws his hand outward. The movement of his arm causes a stream of fire to follow in its pathway and a ball of fire is thrown to the side. The fireball hits once of the boxes that Lucy had organized and begins to spread to the ones beside it. Lucy gasps and quickly runs to get a fireproof blanket to smother the flames.

"Oi Natsu, calm down!" Laxus yells at the moron. Laxus moves to get him out of the building when he sees Lucy running back from of the corner of his eye.

By the time she returns, a dozen boxes and a bookcase have been engulfed in the flames. She throws the blanket on top and smothers the flames. Moving quickly, she manages to contain the fire to the small area. Afterwards she kneels down on the ground as she catches her breath. Laxus' body automatically moves in front of the overwhelmed celestial mage.

"You stay out of this!" Natsu yells at Laxus and turns his attention back to Lucy. "If you want me to leave you alone then fine, I'll leave you alone!" He turns toward the broken window and jumps through it. Screams can be heard in the street as Lucy and Laxus remain inside the building. After a few minutes the screams die down and silence surrounds the two blondes.

Absentmindedly Laxus asks, "What the hell was that?"

Laxus hears a choked sob from behind him and Laxus looks down to see a crying Lucy with her face in her hands. "I…I don't…know," she sobs.

"Lu-Lucy…" Laxus hears a small voice. Laxus looks over to see Happy poking his head around the leg of the desk. Laxus glares at blue cat. This is partly his fault. He helped Natsu in tormenting and bothering Lucy for the entirety of two weeks. Happy catches his eye and shrinks back to hide behind the desk once more.

"Get out," Laxus growls lowly at him. Happy doesn't waste any time and flies out the window to go find Natsu.

A sharp wail brings his attention back to the blonde girl on the ground. The whole scene looks disturbing. Lucy crying her eyes out with a burnt bookcase, boxes, and floor all around her. Soot and ash covers a large portion of everything from when Lucy put out the fire. It covers her legs and some of her clothes from her being on the ground.

Laxus don't know what to do. He have never been good in these kinds of situations. Should he comfort her? No, he wouldn't know what to say. He would probably wind up making it worse. But he can't just stand here and watch her cry either.

She tries to say something but the crying makes it incomprehensible. Laxus crouches down in front of her and tries being direct, "Lucy, stop crying. I can't understand you if you don't stop crying."

She raises her head up from her hands and the look on her face breaks his heart. Tears roll down her cheeks to the tip of her chin in thick streams. Her eyes are half-lidded and strands of her bangs are plastered against the wet skin. In her eyes where a warm chocolatey brown hue was earlier, now lays a dark blackish-brown color devoid of joy. Her bottom lip trembles as she tries to repeats what she says earlier. The words come out choked and scattered as she begins to sob again.

The sight makes him freeze up. Laxus really don't know what to do now. A part of him wants to tell her to stop crying because this whole situation is making him very uncomfortable. Another part of him wants to try and comfort her. Problem is, Laxus don't know how or where to begin. But he's gotta do something.

Laxus drops to one knee in front of her and places his hands on both sides of her head. She jumps slightly from the sudden contact. "Please stop crying," Laxus whispers to her.

She stares at him for a few seconds before she dips her head. Believing that he did something wrong, Laxus tries to take his hands away from her but she stops him by wrapping her small, white, shaking hands around the top of his. She squeezes them as she nods her head and starts to take deep breaths. After a few minutes, her crying has diminished to a few sniffles. She brings their hands down to her lap.

"I said it's all my fault," she looks at him with still glazed eyes.

A scowl crosses his face at her belief. "Bullshit it is."

"But it is," she insists.

"No. It. Isn't," Laxus says firmly and clearly. "Nothing you did was wrong. In fact, you should have been harsher on the guy. He had no right to blame you for anything that he caused. That's his problem, not yours. You had to do what was best for you and if he doesn't agree with that then fuck him."

Her eyes widen in surprise during his little speech but a weak smile appears afterwards. "Thank you Laxus," she whispers to him. They sit in comfortable silence until the resounding noise of running footsteps echo in the room.

The manager comes barreling up the stairs. "What is going on up here?" he yells as he reaches the top steps. In a matter of a few seconds his face goes from angry, to shocked, to furious as he looks at the two blondes on the floor.

Laxus yanks his hands away from Lucy's when he hears the manager yell and looks away embarrassed. Lucy didn't have time to look startled from the sudden loss of contact before she meets the manager's death gaze. She has been in enough of these situations, thanks to the rest of the members of Team Natsu, to know what's coming next.

"What the hell happened?!" he yells at the two mages on the ground.

 _Yep, right on cue,_ she thinks to herself.

Both mages look at one another then to the burnt objects and floor and then back to the manager. Lucy takes a deep breath and releases a heavy sigh before standing up to meet what she was sure to be her doom. Laxus stood with her but stayed behind as she walked up to the man in charge.

She gives him a guilty look, "I'm really, really sorry about all of this damage. My teammate and I got into an argument and things sort of…escalated. We'll pay for all of the damages. Like I said, I'm really, really, really sorry."

He looks between the two mages, "Why would you two get into a fight when there is work to be done?!"

"It wasn't between us," she quickly points back and forth between Laxus and herself. "It was between me and my other teammate. The one with the scarf and pink hair."

"Why does that matter?!"

Not really sure herself, she slowly says, "Um…well. He left…and he won't be returning. Sooooo…he can't burn any more of your stuff?"

The manager scowls at her for a couple of minutes before grunting and running a hand down his face. "What all is damaged?" he mumbles past his hand.

"Oh, um…" Lucy's body perks up at his question. Everything happened so fast that she didn't have time to see what exactly was destroyed. She quickly moves to where the boxes are to try to find which ones were destroyed in the flames. Due to putting everything in chronological order, she looks at the last box number on the left and the first box number on the right of the destroyed area to find out which boxes went up in flame. Taking note in her head, she walks over to the thick catalog and calls the manager over for him to see.

"Boxes D-18 though D-30 were caught in the fire. I think a bookcase also got burned down but I don't think that there was much in it," she tried to reassure him.

"We'll see." The manager grabs the book and looks through the notes that Lucy made previously. "Well the good news is that most of what was destroyed was newspaper articles. I have copies of those down in the basement so we don't have to worry about those. The bad news is that there were some one-of-a-kind objects in those boxes too. I'll have to deduct your pay for those."

Lucy slumps her head in understanding, "Yes sir."

"By looking at what should have been in those boxes, I'm guessing the rough estimates for just the damages of the objects are going to be ten-thousand jewel. I'll also deduct another five-thousand to get the bookcase and the floor repaired."

Lucy reluctantly nods her head.

He continues to look through the book for several minutes before slamming it shut and putting it under his arm. "Alright, here's what we're going to do. Since you're fire friend isn't here anymore, I'll let you finish the work. If there are no more damages to anything else, you finish by tomorrow, and you clean up this mess then I'll give you the remaining five-thousand jewel. That clear?"

Lucy's face lights up at the offer, "Oh yes sir! Crystal clear sir!"

"Good. Now get out of here, I have some copying to do. Come back tomorrow morning bright and early and ready to work," he commands the petite girl.

With many fervent nods, Lucy goes back to her desk and gathers her personal things. Looking over towards Laxus, who has been watching the whole exchange, she motions for him to follow. Both mages walk past the manager as they head down the stairs.

Once they step onto the street in front of the building Lucy inhales through her nose and releases a deep breath. She turns to meet Laxus' indifferent gaze, "I'm sorry you had to see that Laxus, I don't know what has got into Natsu lately."

He simply shrugs and continues to look at her. So much has happened in the past three hours and he wants to make sure he's got everything straight. _First, Natsu has been bugging the hell out of Lucy for a while. She, in turn, gets fed up with him. I give her advice to ignore him, which she takes. We take separate jobs but wind up in the same town. Lucy finds me and my team and asks me to punch Natsu's lights out because she can't stand him anymore. I gladly knock Natsu unconscious and leave to go to the train station. Bickslow makes me realize that I may have made the whole situation worse. I find Team Natsu and keep an eye on Lu-Natsu for a while. Natsu wakes up and starts yelling at Lucy for…"betraying" him? He loses his shit and starts to burn down the building (what a shock). Lucy stops the fire before Natsu says he will leave her alone and jumps out the window. Lucy starts to cry and I successfully (and unbelievably) get her to stop. The manager yells at her and now we are standing in the street,_ he relays everything in sequential order. As if everything wasn't so damn confusing already, he also doesn't know where her mind set is at the moment. Fifteen minutes ago she was a crying heap on the ground but now she seems fine. But that may just be because she was talking to the manager. He has no idea. All he knows is that he wants her to be okay. Really okay, not acting okay.

Lucy nervously shifts from one foot to the other as she stands underneath his gaze. _Well, this is awkward,_ she thinks to himself. She was planning on working for at least a couple more hours before going back to the inn but Natsu botched that plan up too. Now here she is with Laxus, of all people, and she doesn't know what to do with herself. Better yet him. Should she invite him somewhere or something? Or would that be too weird? If she was with her team, they would probably go look around town, go eat, or go back to the inn. But this isn't Gray, Erza, Wendy, or Natsu, this is Laxus. She has absolutely no clue about what he could possible want to do. All day he has been nothing but nice to her so he deserves to do what he wants. _He probably wants to go back to Magnolia; he did just get done with a job and all,_ she thinks to herself. Her mood drops at the thought of him leaving but she quickly pushes it aside in favor of wanting to repay him for helping her.

Lucy breaks the awkward silence, "Well…I guess since Natsu isn't going to be coming back, you probably want to go ho-" a loud grumbling interrupts her sentence. Both blondes look down at her bare stomach before she clasps her hands over the taut skin.

"Hungry?" he asks nonchalantly.

Lucy looks away with her cheeks flushed in embarrassment, "Yeah, I guess so. It's been a while since I've eaten anything." Another grumble loudly rings through the air and her face reddens deeper.

Laxus studies her for a moment before turning and walking down the street, leaving a confused Lucy in his wake. A few feet away he calls over his shoulder without stopping, "Are you coming or not?"

Snapping out of her state, her body nimbly jogs to catch up to his fast pace. Due to his long legs and her not-as-long ones, she has to take three steps to match every one of his. So it doesn't surprise her that he was already far away from the newspaper building by the time she catches up to him. As she reaches his side she asks, "Where are we going?"

He gives her his famous scowl before replying, "To get something to eat."

Her eyes slightly widen and her lips form an 'O' shape in understanding. She almost tells him that he doesn't need to stay if he doesn't want to but she changes her mind at the last second. She doesn't know why but she doesn't want him to leave her yet. Lately, he's been helpful, protective, and, dare she think it, caring of all things. It makes her feel like she can rely on him. Like earlier when he soothed her; sure it wasn't Shakespeare but at least he tried. He was blunt about his opinion but he didn't shove it down her throat and he let her make her own decision on what to do. It let her know that he was trying to convince her nothing was her fault but he wasn't going to force her to listen. That she needed to make the decision not to cry and that he was there if she needed him. His body language said the exact same thing. He held her head but didn't touch her anywhere else. He didn't want to smother her but did want to let her know he was right in front of her. It was…perfect. He's the kind of person that she needs to be around right now.

Erza and Gray would help her if they knew what was going on but she really doesn't want to involve them. They get too involved too quickly and want to work things out immediately, which would probably only make things worse. They mean well but neither understands that she needs to do things on her own time. Laxus doesn't make her do anything and she appreciates that quality of his.

Right now she feels angry with the pink haired fire breather and she wants to stay that way. At least for the time being. She knows deep down that she'll forgive him but she's too hurt right now to consider that. He has pushed her way too far this time and she wants him to learn that you can't invade someone else's life without consequences. So she's not going to worry about Natsu. Not for a while anyway. In fact, she doesn't want to think about him…

Laxus was lost in his own thoughts. How could Natsu say those things to Lucy? Why would he say those things to her? Laxus always thought that Natsu would never do anything that would cause Lucy harm. Apparently he was wrong. She didn't deserve anything Natsu told her but Natsu still blamed her. He understands that she made a conscious decision against a guild mate but she was only doing what she had to. After Natsu left, she blamed herself for everything and that royally pissed him off. He didn't want to see Lucy broken; he didn't want any part of his family broken. That's why he wanted, or at least try, to comfort her.

He was hesitant because he was never the gentle type and comforting her needed delicacy. When she cried harder after he reached out to her, he felt his heart sink at the thought that he had caused her more pain. So he tried to pull away, to help her by not hurting her. But her small, soft, dainty, pale hands wrapped around his and pushed them back onto her skin. He watched her with unblinking eyes as she used his hands for support to calm herself. Time slowed down to a crawl when she began to lean further into his touch. In that moment, he realized she wanted him there with her. No, she _needed_ him there. No one has ever needed him like she did and that feeling shook him to his bones. There was not a single place on Earthland that he would have rather be in than lost in that moment. It made him feel useful, reliable, and calm. He wishes he can feel that feeling one more time…

Both mages were so lost in thought that they continued to walk down the street until another growl from Lucy's stomach brought them back to reality. Each one buries their feelings, thoughts, and emotions for the time being and looks for a place to eat. A restaurant on the side of the road that has a dark wooden exterior with even darker trim along the door and windows grabs their attention. The inside has tables lined along the walls and in a column in the middle to make two small walkways.

They walk inside and are greeted by a young male waiter who sits them at one of the tables along the wall. He hands them their menus before taking the two blondes' drink orders. Laxus orders a beer while Lucy orders a glass of peach tea.

"Peach tea?" Laxus asks in a sarcastic voice as they look over their menus.

"It's good for stress," she mumbles.

"So is beer," he replies simply.

A smile unconsciously spreads across her lips at his joke. She tries to hide it from him but the smirk that grows across his face tells her that he saw it. The waiter comes back with their drinks and asks for their food orders.

"I'll have the lasagna with a side of caesar salad, please," says Lucy politely.

"Of course," the waiter takes her menu and turns toward Laxus, "and for you sir?"

Laxus turns to one page of the menu and shoves it into the waiter's hands, "That page."

The waiter looks at him dumbfounded. Laxus throws a quick glare at the waiter which causes the waiter to quickly thank Laxus and scurry into kitchen to fill the order. A muffled scoff makes Laxus turn his attention across the table to his dining partner. Lucy is pursing her lips tightly together in the attempt to restrain herself from laughing. Her hands are tightly clasped together in her lap, eyes looking down at the table, and the sides of mouth rise and fall as she tries to keep the smile away.

Thinking that she's laughing at his eating habits, Laxus asks in an irritated voice, "What's so funny?"

She quickly shakes her head in short, fast motions before she takes a deep breathe through her nose. He scowls deeply at her demanding his answer. She holds her hands up in front of her face, "It was just the way he looked when you told him your order and how fast he ran into the kitchen. I always find waiters and waitresses' reactions funny when I go eat with Natsu."

"Hmph," he grunts as he looks pointedly away from her. _Of course she wasn't laughing at me; she's used to Natsu's all-you-can-eat-buffet-style appetite._

"Hey Laxus," she softly says to gain his attention, "thanks for everything. It really means a lot to me that you helped me so much."

"Don't mention it. What is up with Natsu anyway?" he asks as he crosses his arms.

Her smile fades as she quietly says, "I don't know. I just don't know. And he won't tell me either. If you don't mind, I don't want to think about it right now. Is that okay?"

"I don't care, do want you want," he says gruffly. Lucy looks at him with a pained expression before looking down at the table.

Seeing her depressed face he feels a sharp ping in his chest. Realization of what he said and how it sounded suddenly hits him and he starts to panic, "Uh, uh…" _God dammit, not again._ This was not his intention. He isn't good at this whole small talk thing and that was the first question he could come up with on the spot. Then he had to go and make it worse by being an inconsiderate asshole. Just. Fucking. Perfect. Why couldn't he just keep his fucking mouth shut? Now he's gotta fix this and he swears then and there to not mention Natsu for the rest of the night.

"Um, how did you know about Boston?" he tries to change the subject.

"The band you let me listen to earlier?" she asks quietly.

"Yeah, I was going to ask you but I got interrupted."

She lifts her head to look him in the eye, "It's kinda a long story."

 _I don't care as long as you're not crying,_ he thinks to himself as he says, "We've got time."

Lucy straightens her back, "Well it was around the time that my mom died. My family used to have this chef named Mr. Harmon that worked for us. I always thought he looked like Santa. He was our family's private chef and he was in charge of all of our meals. He was always really nice to me as I grew up and offered to teach me how to cook if I wanted to learn. After my mom passed away, I would get lonely and bored so I would look for something to do. One day I took him up on his offer. I went down to the kitchen before lunch and he was there waiting for me. He started teaching me basic things and the better I got the more dishes he taught me. Nobody ever came in while he was giving me lessons because everyone else was busy. While we were cooking he would turn on his private stash of music to help pass the time. We would dance, make jokes, and have a fun time while I was learning. It was one of the few things that made me happy during that time. All of his music was 'the classics', as he would say, and that 'there has never been better music'. After listening to the songs a few times I started to really enjoy them. I even had my favorites but I could never remember their names. You let me listen to one of them earlier."

"Why couldn't you just get a copy of the music for yourself?" Laxus asked out of curiosity.

Lucy's face pulled into a frown at her memories, "I couldn't. Every day I had a music class that I had to attend. My music teacher's name was Mr. Duck and he-"

"You had a teacher named Mr. Duck?" Laxus asks sarcastically and in disbelief.

Lucy smiles at him and rests her cheek on her hand, "Yeah, I know. I always thought it was a funny name too. Anyway, Mr. Duck was very, very strict and serious when it came to music and he expected the same out of me. The only good kind of music to him was classical and baroque; any other kind of music was trash in his opinion. He taught me the history of the classical music world, how to read music sheets, play the piano, and sing operas. As he always said, 'A lady must love the romance and art behind every serenade.' The only form of music I was, officially, allowed to listen to was what Mr. Duck approved. So if I did get one of Mr. Harmon's albums then Mr. Duck would throw it away.

"Once I asked him about some of the songs I would listen to when I was with Mr. Harmon. His face went red and he demanded to know where I heard such things because, and I quote; 'Only barbaric, devil-worshipping Satanists listen to those heinous, ear-bursting, hateful, random excuses for a tune.' He convinced my father that someone was corrupting me so my dad had the mansion searched from top to bottom to find the rock music. When his stash was found, Mr. Harmon was fired and kicked off the grounds. I felt so guilty but Mr. Harmon said he didn't blame me and that he wanted me to be happy. My father put extra restrictions on me to make sure that I didn't do anything from then on that wasn't deemed acceptable for me; I never heard the songs again after that. Until today." She gives him a deep appreciative smile.

By the end of her story, Laxus' jaw is sitting on his chest and his eyes are wide. Her dad did that to her? If _anyone_ tried to pull that kind of shit with him, there would be hell to pay. Music was the major source of his happiness growing up. He doesn't know what he would have done if he wasn't _allowed_ his only pleasure. Now he understands why she was so eager to get her hands on his Sound Pods earlier. His chest tightens at this new knowledge and he wasn't sure it was out of pity, anger, sadness, or something else.

"Laxus? Are you okay?" Lucy asks worriedly.

"Hmm, yeah," He replies unconsciously.

Lucy rests her head on the balls of her hands and looks at him expectantly, "Can I ask you a question? If you don't know the answer it's okay."

"Go ahead."

"I remember one album in particular and I was wondering if you know what it's called." He nods his head.

She crosses her forearms under her chest and places her elbows on the table. Her head tilts back as she tries to imagine the album in her head. He can't help but take an appreciative glance; her breasts are pushed up from her arms and her chest and neck are bare to him. It's a fantastic sight and he rarely gets to see it in close range.

"There's a mountain and a sea. In the sea there is a man drowning and screaming. Behind or next to the mountain there is this big…demon. And he's cracking a whip!" She pulls her head forward, "That was always my favorite part. Have you ever seen anything like that?"

Laxus' eyebrows are in his hairline. She's listened to hard rock music too? Three times. Three times, she has shocked him today. "Holy Diver by Dio?"

Her eyes go wide with anticipation and she leans forward, giving her breasts another push forward. He has to restrain himself from a quick peep at her cleavage. "Do you have it?"

He nods his head and she gasps as a wide smile splits her face. "Can I listen to it?" she asks eagerly.

The door to the kitchen opens and the smell of a bountiful amount of food wafts through the air. The waiter from before brings two others to help him and they place as much as they can on the small table between the two mages. Everything else gets placed on the empty table next to them. Lucy pays no mind to her food and keeps her pleading eyes on Laxus.

He chuckles at her enthusiasm and brings his Sound Pod out of his coat pocket. "Which song do you want to listen to?"

"Any of them," she says immediately. Lucy is almost bouncing in her chair from giddiness and still pays no mind to her plate.

He changes the song and hands her the headphones. She immediately puts them on and instantly her eyes light up like they did at the newspaper office. A sight of pure happiness once again appears before him. The airy feeling from earlier hits Laxus' chest as he watches her enjoy herself. The sudden feeling embarrasses him and he distracts himself from his tablemate by focusing on the various kinds of food across the table

Once the song is finished playing she hands his music player back to him. "Do you have the whole album on there?" she asks excitedly as she sticks her fork in her lasagna.

"Yep and I have the Black Sabbath albums too," he replies between bites.

Lucy cocks her head to the side, "Huh?"

Laxus gives her a calm smile. "Black Sabbath. It's the band Dio was in before he started his own."

"Oh?" her eyes go wide before taking a bite of her food. "Why did he go solo?" she asks with curiosity written all over her face.

The rest of the evening is filled with talk of classical rock music. Laxus holds his smile as he tells Lucy almost everything he knows about the subject, which encompasses a little bit of everything. He spares no details and almost speaks passionately from time to time. Lucy, in turn, hangs on every word that spills from his mouth and readily asks every question that pops into her head. Her newfound curiosity and his vast knowledge in the subject, makes her interest in the music and the man in front of her grow the more they talk. A smile never leaves her face and she even finds herself laughing from time to time when Laxus tells a particular funny piece of trivia. They talk endlessly for hours and would have talked some more but the restaurant manager asks them to leave so they could close up for the night.

Lucy started to pull out her wallet but Laxus stopped her, "Don't bother, I've got it."

She looks at him surprised, "Are you sure?"

He nods and throws down some jewels on the table. Both blondes leave the restaurant and walk out onto the street. The only lights around are the street lamps that line the street and the moon that shines overhead. A small gust of cold wind causes Lucy to shiver and she wraps her arms around her body. She feels a heavy fabric drape over her shoulders and looks up to a now coatless Laxus. The fur lined coat engulfs her entire body and almost immediately warms her skin. She looks away with a small blush as she wraps the coat around her small body. "Thank you," she says quietly.

Laxus watches as she snuggles into his coat. "It's late, you should get some rest," Laxus says as he looks away. If it wasn't so dark out Lucy might have been able to see the faint hint of pink dusted across his cheeks.

"Yeah, you're right. Um, there are two beds in my hotel room. You're welcome to stay if you're tired, since it's late and all," she says shyly.

Still refusing to look at her he mumbles, "Thanks."

Lucy leads the way to the hotel with Laxus following steadily beside her. A comfortable silence falls between them as they enjoy the cool night. Once the reach the hotel room, Lucy pulls out the key and enters.

"The bed near the window is mine," she says as she pulls off coat and hangs it on the back of a chair.

Taking that as his cue Laxus takes the other bed and stretches out. Seeing him get comfortable, Lucy grabs her sleeping clothes and heads to the bathroom to get changed. As he hears the door close he gets up to retrieve his music player and takes off his shirt, socks and shoes. He moves to sit against his headboard and pulls the covers over his legs so only the top half of him is showing. The Sound Pod is placed on his ears and he leans his head back with his hands behind his head as he lets a softer song lull him to sleep.

The bathroom door opens up and Lucy walks out in her pink pajamas. As she comes around the corner into the room she sees a shirtless Laxus relaxing in his bed. With his head leaned back, she has a magnificent view of his ripped upper body. Everything from his thick arm muscles, to his strong, broad shoulders and chest, to the perfect dips and hills of his washboard abs was on full display. Heat starts to rise to her cheeks as she ogles him. Jerking her eyes away, Lucy quickly puts her clothes with the rest of her things and rushes to her own bed. She dives under her covers and takes deep breathes to calm her blush. The breaths relax her and she can feel herself starting to doze off. "Goodnight Laxus," she whispers as she closes her eyes.

"Goodnight Lucy," he whispers back.


	7. Chapter 7

**I just want to give a HUGE thank you to my reviewers. Your kind words make my day and I would give you each a cake if I could. When I started this story I was thought it would only get at a maximum of ten followers but now, thanks to all of you, this story has reached over a 100! I am so freaking ecstatic right now so everyone gets cookies and ice cream! Yipee! *confetti shoots into the air* Thank you to everyone who has stuck by me so far, I appreciate your ongoing support. Please continue to give me feedback so I can keep you guys and gals happy.**

 **Hiro Mashima owns Fairy Tail and all corresponding characters. I only own the extra characters and plot.**

"Are you sure you want to help me? You don't have to if you don't want to." Lucy offers.

"You can't finish everything by yourself," he counters with his typical frown.

She gives him a smile and continues to lead the way to the newspaper building. Once they get to the entrance they see the manager waiting for them inside.

"Good, you're here," the manager says. "First things first, clean up that mess upstairs. I put copies of the articles that were destroyed on the desk. When you're finished with the cleaning, remake the boxes and sort them accordingly. For the stuff that hasn't been filed yet, just continue what you've been doing. If you come across an article or paper that probably got destroyed in the fire make a note of it so I can go make a copy for you. If you find an object that was probably destroyed then just make a note of it in the book. And you have to have everything done by the end of today. That clear?"

"Yes sir!" Lucy chirps.

The manager flicks his head toward the back, "Get to it then."

Both mages retreat to the second floor and get to work. Lucy tells Laxus that he doesn't have to clean if he pulls everything from the bookcases in the front of the building and moves them towards the desk. He starts to move everything while Lucy begins to sweep up the shattered glass and ash. After an hour of hard cleaning and moving various objects, everything was orderly and near the desk.

Lucy instructs Laxus on what she wants him to do. He will take a paper from the desk and retrieve everything for the file. While she writes everything down in the catalog and organizes the boxes.

Since he watched her yesterday he already kinda knew what he was getting into when he offered to help her. But he had no idea how good she handled this kind of work. Her method is very methodical and efficient; not a single movement is wasted. He's amazed at how quickly she gets everything done. Whenever Gramps makes him do paperwork for the guild he takes at least three times as long as she probably would. _Maybe I can get her to help me next time,_ he thinks to himself.

The few things on the bookshelf that got caught in the fire are overlooked as they start to finish whatever was left of the orders. Both mages work diligently and silently as they focus on their respect tasks. They are so concentrated that they worked through lunch and the most of the afternoon. Every now and then the manager would come and check on them and take any requests for copies. It was evening by the time everything was cleaned, sorted, noted in the catalog, and boxed.

The manager comes to check on their progress only to see Lucy putting the last box away and giving Laxus the brightest smile she can muster. "All finished?" he asks.

She spins toward him and nods her head, "Yes sir. Everything has been stored and organized just as you instructed."

He does a quick once over and sees that everything looks in order. "Very good. Here's your payment of five-thousand jewels," he says as he holds out a small cloth sack.

She readily takes it and gives him a big smile, "Thank you!"

He returns her smile with one of his own, "Thanks for organizing everything. Now if you would excuse me I need to close up shop."

The blondes nod their heads. They walk behind him as he leads them to the front door. Lucy gives a finally goodbye to the man before walking down the street toward the train station with Laxus in tow. She practically skips along to the train from the self-satisfaction of completing the job and earning the reward. Earlier in the day she asked Laxus if he would like some of the money but he refused to take any of it.

She was humming to herself when they reached the train station. They look at the schedule and saw that the next train to Magnolia was leaving in thirty minutes. _Natsu will probably be back in town by now,_ Lucy suddenly thinks to herself. Her face pulls into a frown at the thought of having to face the dragon slayer. Laxus' keen eyes catch her sudden mood change and he asks her what the matter is.

"Natsu's probably at the guild," she answers him with her frown.

"So?" he asks.

She gives him a dumb look, "Soooo…I don't want to see him right now."

He quirks an eyebrow at her and shrugs, "Then don't go to the guild."

"I can't. I have to report how the job went and what all Natsu destroyed," she sighs at her conundrum.

An idea strikes him and a slight blush creeps onto his cheeks as he considers it. He clears his throat and blush to ask hesitantly, "Would you like to see my music?"

She looks up startled at the tall male, "Huh?"

He looks pointedly away from her, "Would you like to see my music?"

She stares wide eyed at him for a minute before her face morphs into one of utter excitement, "Really?! You would let me see them?! I would love to!"

"Um, well…I had a thought. Since you don't want to go to the guild, I can teleport ahead while you ride on the train and report how the job went to Gramps so you don't have to. Then tomorrow morning I can come pick you up at your house to show you my collection. That way you can avoid Natsu tonight and tomorrow," he adds hastily at the end. He refuses to look her in the eye as he tells her his embarrassing idea. It sounds a lot like a date and he fells extremely awkward asking her because he doesn't want it to come out sounding like one.

She looks surprised and her hand automatically rises to lay on top her chest. A small, gentle smile forms on her lips and her eyes soften, "You would do that for me?"

Laxus turns his face away from her more. _Does she really have to ask me that?_

"That would be great. Are you hungry? I'm starving," she says sweetly.

Surprised by her acceptance and her question, he barely nods. "Would you like to get something to eat once I get back into town? I know it will be a few hours so if you don't want to wait I understand."

"Sure, I'll go. I can talk to Gramps while I wait."

She gives him a smile, "Alright then. Too bad you can't lightning teleport both of us. Otherwise neither one of us would have to wait." she adds with an awkward laugh.

Laxus looks shocked by what she said then stares down at his feet. His eyebrows furrow in question. "Why not?"

"Why not what?" Lucy stops laughing.

"Why can't I teleport you?"

She looks legitimately surprised, "Can you?"

"Never thought about it. Wanna try?"

"I won't get shocked, will I?"

Laxus shrugs his shoulders, "I don't know, maybe."

Lucy starts to freak out at the notion, "U-um, I-I don't kn-know."

Laxus huffs a heavy sigh before grabbing Lucy and pulling her into his chest and arms. She starts to squirm and yelp as she tries to put some distance between them but his grip is so strong that all of her struggling feels like he is holding a small wriggling puppy.

A tingling sensation floats over her skin and soon becomes a thick, solid layer. She freezes at the new feeling and allows it to fully surround her. The coat of bright light soaks into her flesh and fills her with a tickling sense of warmth. It deepens to her bones and she starts to feel her overwhelmed nerves become more and more hypersensitive to her surroundings with every passing millisecond. Suddenly her ears fill with a booming sound and her feet are lifted off the ground. She feels completely weightless as she flies through the air. Within minutes, Lucy can feel the ground reappear under her feet and the lifting sensation leaves her body in a blink of an eye.

The sudden discharge of energy makes her stomach lurch and she falls down to her knees as she clutches at the painful spot. She can feel the bile rise in her throat and she fights to keep it down. Taking deep breaths, Lucy manages to suppress the urge to puke. Looking up, she can see Laxus looking down at her panicked. "Are you okay?" he asks urgently.

She gives him a small chuckle and she says between breaths, "Yeah, but… I gotta say…this motion sickness thing…sucks."

Laxus gives her a booming laugh and she can't help but laugh with him. With their usual roles reversed, the irony of the situation makes it too funny. After their laughter calms down she asks, "Where are we?"

"The outskirts of the east side of Magnolia, not too far away from the guild. I'm surprised that worked so well."

"Well, now we know," Lucy says as she continues her breathing exercises. He smirks at her and gives a chuckle. Once she is able to stand on her feet again without too much wobbling, they start walking into Magnolia. They see a small restaurant off to the side and decide that's where they'll eat. Laxus is going to go to guild and give the full report on Lucy's job while she gets a table and orders the food.

Both blondes do their respectful tasks. Lucy grabs a table near the back and orders one of everything that has some form of meat in it. Meanwhile, Laxus heads to the Fairy Tail guild hall. The Thunder Legion and Natsu aren't present so no one pays him any mind as he opens the large wooden doors. He walks over to the master and gives him a very brief report of the job. The parts that involved Natsu annoying Lucy, him punching Natsu, and Lucy and Natsu fighting are purposefully left out. When he comes to the part where Natsu set the building on fire he makes up an excuse saying that it was an accident.

The master looks surprised by Laxus' sudden appearance but didn't have time to ask Laxus why _he_ was telling him this information instead of Lucy because Laxus promptly turns on his heel and leaves after his summary. Still confused on how Laxus wound up on a job with Lucy and why Lucy didn't come with him to the guild, he decides to drop the subject for the time being. One way or another, he'll find out the whole story tomorrow.

Laxus immediately returned to the waiting Lucy and is rewarded by the sight of the food being placed on the table. Taking his seat opposite of the celestial mage, she starts asking him questions about his music collection. They talk over dinner about his collection, the hours they were working together, or each other's personal tastes in music.

* * *

Damus holds his bag of groceries in one hand as he fiddles with his keys in the other. Finally finding the right one, he slips the cold metal into the key slot and turns the lock. He walks into his apartment and nearly topples over at the sight of Natsu laid out on his couch and Happy raiding his fridge.

"What are you guys doing here?" he asks surprised. Damus got back from his job with Erza, Gray, and Wendy yesterday. He found out from Mira that Lucy, Natsu, and Happy took a three day job and that they were expected to be home today. So he guesses that it's really not that surprising to see the two partners here.

"We need to talk to you," Natsu says lowly and without looking at the green haired man.

"Yeah, we're in trouble," Happy says through the flesh of a fish.

Concern for the normally happy and rambunctious duo is written all over Damus' face, "Why? What's happened?"

"It's Lucy…" Natsu trails off in his still depressed voice.

Damus' concern heightens, "What? Did something happen? Is she okay?"

"Oh yeah, she's fine but she's really scary right now. That's what we need to talk to you about," Happy says as he pulls out the fish bones from his teeth.

Damus looks confused as he looks between the blue cat and his pink haired partner. Realizing that he is standing in the doorway to his apartment, he quickly closes the door and moves to put the groceries in the kitchen. "What do you mean?" he asks as he puts the bag down.

"The plan didn't work," Natsu says.

Damus stops with his unpacking to look at his friend and Happy takes the opportunity to look through the bag. "The show-Lucy-you're-the-best-partner plan? Why didn't it work?" Damus asks surprised.

"We don't know but now we need a new plan," Happy answers through the food boxes. Damus notices the cat's position and yanks him away from his newly bought food.

"Alright, tell me what happened," Damus says. Happy tells the story as Damus puts his food away. He tells him everything from the first morning after Damus told them his vision up to Natsu waking up and yelling at Lucy in the newspaper building. Natsu nor Damus say a word during the entire story.

Damus cups his chin between his knuckle and thumb in deep thought. "Yeah, that is a problem."

"What did I do wrong? All I did was try and make her happy." Natsu says with exasperation as he throws his hands in the air.

A few minutes pass as Damus tries to think of any ideas of how to get out of this mess. "Maybe we're going about this in the wrong way," he starts.

Natsu jolts up, "How so?"

"Well let's think about this. One," he starts counting off in his fingers, "in my vision Lucy was yelling at you to leave her alone. Two, when you hung around her she would ask you to leave. Three, after Laxus punched you she said she needed space. I think that's our answer," Damus says as he smacks the bottom of his fist into his palm.

Happy and Natsu look at one another then back towards Damus and cock their heads to the side in confusion. Damus inwardly facepalms at their slowness.

"She wants to be left alone," Damus says slowly as if he is explaining something to a child.

"We're still not following ya," Natsu looks completely baffled.

"Uhhh," Damus groans. "That's what you need to do. You need to leave her alone," Damus says with exaggeration.

Natsu jumps up from the couch, "But how is that supposed to help us? We can't prove how much of the awesome partners we are if we're not around her."

"Wrong. It'll work. I once read in a book that women do a lot of that reverse psychology stuff. If you want something then you pretend that don't want it. So if you want to show her how great you are then you don't actually show her. That's why you need to leave her alone."

Natsu and Happy look so confused that Damus was sure he would see their brains melt out of their nose and ears any second. Damus purses his lips together in thought, _how can I phrase this?_

"Okay how about this?" He gestures dramatically with his hands, "If you leave her alone then she will start to miss you, right?" Natsu nods his head.

Damus continues slowly, "So the longer you leave her alone the more she'll miss you, right?" Natsu nods his head again.

"Then if you leave her alone for a really long time then she will eventual think about how much she misses you and why she misses you so much. By thinking about _why_ she misses you she thinks about all the reasons you're so awesome. And thus she will want to be partners with you because she realizes how great you are."

Natsu stares at him for a few seconds in thick silence before his eyes widen, "Yeah! Yeah, that's right!"

Damus smiles triumphantly, "And plus you told her that you're going to leave her alone so you don't have to worry about making any excuses if someone starts asking questions."

Natsu nods his head as he looks around the room, "Yeah that just might work. Damus you're a genius!"

Happy raises his paw in the air and says with enthusiasm, "Aye sir! Let's _not_ show Lucy what great partners we are."

Damus and Natsu nod their heads as they begin planning how to ignore the blonde celestial mage.

* * *

At the end of the evening both blondes are full and content. Laxus walks Lucy home afterwards to make sure she gets there safely. They reach the doorstep to her apartment and she turns to face him.

"Thanks for dinner Laxus. It was really fun," she says in a bubbly voice.

He grunts his agreement before staring into her eyes. Big, chocolatey brown orbs absorb his gaze and he finds himself lost. Every emotion that he has felt since they sat on the floor together hits him all at once. He remembers the elation from when he had found someone who shared the same taste in music as him and how curious she was about it. Then he saw how hard and determined she worked to make the client happy and that made him feel proud to have such a hard worker in his guild. But what he remembers the most was something completely unknown to him. It first happened when he comforted her and she held his hands. Then it happened again when she looked at him as she listened to him answer her burning questions during their dinners. She looked at him like he was the most important person in the whole universe to her in that moment. And just like when she held him earlier, no one has ever looked that way. Both times made him feel desired. Both times made him feel needed. Both times made him feel…special to her. That thought and all of the emotions from the past day cause his stomach to start fluttering. The strange and sudden feeling pulls him to his senses and he tears himself away from her eyes.

"I'll come by at nine o'clock," he says as he looks away from her.

Lucy's face saddens from his the lack of eye contact but replaces it with a smile, "Alright that sounds fine. I'll see you tomorrow then."

He turns to leave and waves a hand over his shoulder as a goodbye. He hears her door click shut and he zooms off to his house to get some rest.

Lucy starts the climb to her apartment and she sees her landlady waiting outside her door. "Good eveni-"

"Where have you been? Do you know how long I have been waiting here? I'm here for my payment," she huffs out in one breath.

"Yes ma'am," Lucy sighs. She pulls out the cloth bag and sorts out four-thousand jewel and hands it to the older woman.

The landlady raises one eyebrow with her palm still out, "Well? Where's the rest of it?"

Lucy looks at her dumbfounded, "Rest of what?"

Irritation spans her face, "My money, of course."

Lucy continues to openly stare at the older woman in confusion. "But I only owed four-thousa-"

"Didn't you read my memo?"

"Memo? What memo?"

The landlady puffs air through her nose and puts her hands on her hips. "This one," she thrusts a piece of paper into Lucy's shocked face. "It says that I am raising the rent from seventy-thousand jewel to ninety-thousand jewel a month starting with this payment."

Lucy yanks the paper out of her hands and quickly reads over it. Sure enough it's exactly as the woman in front of her says. She drops her head in utter dejection, _how did I miss this..._

"I'm sorry Ms. Landlady but I didn't know about the raise in rent. I don't have the extra twenty-thousand jewel right now. If you can give me some more time I'll pay you what I owe," she practically begs the older woman.

The lady takes a minute to think about it before sticking her nose in the air, "Very well. I'll give you one week to make the rent up. But the next time rent is due you better have the ninety-thousand ready," she waggles a pudgy little finger at Lucy.

"Yes ma'am." Lucy says sadly.

The landlady walks away leaving Lucy alone in the hallway. Pushing herself forward, Lucy unlocks the door and drags herself across the room to her bed. She collapses onto it and relishes in the soft plushness of her comforter.

 _This sucks. All I want to do is relax. Now I have no choice but to go the guild and pick out a job. I'm probably going to wind up seeing Natsu there and I don't want to do that. I'm still mad at him for blowing up at me. The jerk. And what's worse is that I won't be seeing Laxus' amazing music collection either. A one-time offer and I have to turn it down. This really, really sucks._ Big exaggerated tears stream down Lucy's face at the thought of her missed opportunity and horrible luck. She continued to lay there until she finally submits herself to her fate; wake up early, decline Laxus' offer when he comes by, go to the guild, ignore Natsu, pick a job that pays at least twenty-thousand jewel, make the money, come home.

Puffing her cheeks out, she pushes herself off her bed and starts to do her nightly routine. She needs all the beauty sleep she can get.

* * *

Sunlight streams through the window to Lucy's apartment. It highlights the blonde strands of her hair and the side of her peaceful, sleeping face. A small sigh escapes her lips as her breathing steady accelerates and brown eyes flutter open from the depths of sleep. Minutes slowly pass as she wakes from her slumber. She stretches her arms and legs to clear any stiffness they gathered during the night.

Lucy glances at the clock across her room and see the time is a quarter before eight. _Uh, just enough time for me to get ready and eat before Laxus gets here,_ she thinks to herself. She throws her comforter back and heaves herself out of bed to begin her morning routine.

By the time she is finished showering, getting dressed, and eating her breakfast its five till nine. A loud knock on the door resounds through her apartment and Lucy jumps at the sudden noise. She opens the door to find an indifferent Laxus in front of her. Blinking a few times with her mouth slightly open at the man, Laxus takes notice of her rather obvious surprise.

"Did you forget I was coming by today?" he asks blankly.

"No I didn't forget. It's just that you didn't break in," she says perplexed at him.

"Hmm, why would I break in?"

"Because everyone does. You're the first person to ever knock on my door."

He stares at her for a long minute trying to figure out if she's lying or heavily exaggerating. Finding no such indications he can't help but secretly feel pity for her in the privacy department. "Well I'm not everyone," he says with indifference. "Are you ready?"

Irritation morphs her face as she sighs, "Yeah but I can't go."

He quirks an eyebrow at her, "And why not?"

"Because I have to go to the guild and pick out a job. My landlady raised my rent by twenty-thousand jewel and she's giving me a week to pay it. And since I don't want to see Natsu for a while, I'll have to finish a few solo jobs back to back to avoid him. Trust me, I would rather relax and look at your collection if I could."

"Why don't you just take one job for a long time? I do it all the time."

Lucy shrugs her shoulders, "Usually all of the jobs that take a longer time and pay bigger amounts of money are more difficult and I'm not strong enough to handle those. So I get the easier, less paying ones."

Laxus scoffs at Lucy's ridiculous answer, "Hmph, you could do 'em."

Lucy crosses her arms and gives him a sarcastic look, "Right, and you and I don't share the same hair color."

"If you're so worried then why not get Erza and Gray to go with you?"

"I really don't want to ask them. They have probably figured out by now that something's up with me and Natsu and knowing them, they'll want to help fix it. I'm still mad at him and the last thing I need is for them to get involved. That and I want the whole reward."

His frown deepens as she gives him a wry smile. "I'm sorry for making you come all this way for nothing Laxus."

Laxus stares at Lucy before sighing heavily, "Would you like me to go with you?"

Lucy's face turns surprised, "Huh?"

"Since you don't think you're capable enough to handle anything on your own, would you like me to come with you? You can pick whatever job you want," he asks with a bored and apathetic look.

She looks up at the tall man in disbelief, "Really? Really, really?"

He continuously stares at her in silence until she realizes he's serious. Lucy's face lights up and she gives a small jump for joy. "That would be awesome! Thank you Laxus!"

"Well then, let's go the guild," he says as he turns to walk down the stairs.

"Oh! Hold on let me grab my keys," she says as she dashes across the room to grab the gold and silver metals. Closing the door behind her, she makes her way outside where Laxus is waiting for her. "Alright I'm ready," she says as she approaches the man.

Lucy thanks Laxus excitedly and cheerfully several times on their way to the guild. To her, he was saving her behind and she would really owe him for this one. Laxus nods his head at her each time in acceptance and smirks at her good mood. He doesn't know if she should really be that grateful to him but he does know that he made her happy and that makes him happy.

Walking into the guild hall both mages notice the small amount of people inside. Due to it being early in the morning, only the early risers are awake. The master is having a light conversation with Mira as she prepares for the day at the bar.

Mira and Master look startled at the appearance of the smiling Lucy practically skipping to the bar in high spirits with a calm Laxus by her side so early in the morning. Lucy calls out her good mornings towards the pair as she reaches the bar but continues to stand while Laxus takes a seat on one of the stools.

"Good morning," Mira says suspiciously as she watches the two blondes.

"Can I have a strawberry milkshake Mira?" Lucy asks pleasantly.

"And an order of pancakes with a side of bacon, ham, and eggs," Laxus gruffly adds to the order causing Lucy to giggle at him.

Mira gawks at Lucy. Did Lucy just laugh at Laxus? And he didn't do anything in retaliation? Now Mira's convinced that she's hallucinating. "Sure, I'll get right on it," Mira says in disbelief as she turns for the kitchen.

"Thanks Mira," Lucy chirps toward the barmaid. She then turns toward Laxus with a big smile, "I'm going to go check the request board. I'll be right back." He grunts at her as she walks off towards the job requests.

Master watches Lucy saunter away before turning back to his grandson. He opens his mouth to question the young man about why they're together but Laxus cuts him off. "I offered to go with her on a job. Apparently she needs money for her rent."

Shock causes the master's jaw to drop and hang loosely from its hinges. He can't remember the last time Laxus offered his help for a job. First Laxus tells him about a job Lucy and Natsu took together, then they walk into the guild together in good moods, and now the two of them are going off on a job? Something is definitely up. But he knows that unless the S-class mage wants to tell him the details, he won't get a word out of Laxus.

"Well that's very considerate of you Laxus," Master finally says after he kinda recovers himself. Within the next minute Mira walks out with Laxus and Lucy's orders as Lucy walks over with a flier in her hands.

"I think I found the perfect one," Lucy says with a smile as she lays the flier in front of Laxus and sits next to him. Mira places their respective orders in front of them as Laxus looks over the flier.

Laxus reads aloud the important parts of the paper as Lucy watches him excitedly, "Help wanted…retrieve magical artifacts and objects…William A. Tweed…Fairmount…reward: one-hundred thousand jewel."

"It seems simple, there might not be that much fighting involved, and the reward is more than enough for my rent," says as she stops sipping on her straw.

A job that requires very little effort suits Laxus just fine. "I said I wouldn't care what job you picked so if this is the one you want then we'll go."

Happiness glides through her body at Laxus' quick compliance. Natsu would usually complain about not getting to fight difficult opponents and that wears on her nerves. Now with Laxus' more laid back attitude she can finally feel less pressured to do things that against her better judgement.

"Thank you Laxus! Mira we'll take this job," Lucy exclaims as she turns toward the white haired bar maid.

Mira gives them a small smile as she takes the flier from Laxus and marks it down in the job catalog. She hands it back to Lucy and Lucy carefully folds it up and stuffs it in her pocket. As Laxus finishes his meal Mira gives the two mages the details of the job. Both her and the master notice how Lucy glances in Laxus' direction every few minutes with a bright smile. And how Laxus seems content receiving Lucy's attention. After Laxus finishes his breakfast, he and Lucy plan to meet in front of the train station in a couple of hours. Lucy says her goodbyes to the master and Mira as she leaves behind Laxus.

Confusion spreads across the masters and Mira's faces from the odd scenario that just took place. Neither one of them could have predicted seeing a bubbly Lucy taking a not as usually moody Laxus off on a job. They catch each other's eye and instantly start gabbing and brainstorming as to why their two favorite blondes are acting so funny.

As soon as Laxus was twenty feet away from the guild he teleports back to his house while Lucy walks back to her apartment to pack their necessary things for the four day trip. An hour and a half later, the celestial mage is seen exiting the reddish-orange building towing a small pink suitcase behind her. While she begins to walk toward her meeting point she sees a familiar streak of light in the sky above her and watches it disappear in the distance. Not two seconds afterwards, a crash of thunder resonates around her and she brings her free hand up to cover her ear.

Lucy reaches the train station and immediately looks around for her impromptu partner. She doesn't have to look far before she sees a spiky blonde head poking out from the crowd. He is leaning against a beam at one of the last platforms with his bag at his feet, eyes closed, arms crossed, and headphones blaring loud rock music. She walks up to the man and he lazily opens his eyes to look down at her. Pulling out a ticket from his coat pocket, he hands her the slip of paper before closing his eyes and crossing his arms once more.

A train pulls into the station and after a few minutes, blows a whistle signaling for passengers to board. Laxus and Lucy step onto the train and take a booth for themselves. Lucy pulls out a book from her luggage while Laxus leans his back against the window and stretches his legs over his seat.

Once all of the passengers have boarded, the train steadily pulls out of the station. Lucy glances over at Laxus only to see him with his head back and a sickly green color starting to creep up his throat. "Laxus are you okay?" she asked worriedly. He gives her a barely audible noise that sounds like a mixture of a grunt, groan, and whimper. Her eyebrows furrow in confusion but rise in realization. Before she has a chance to stop the words from exiting her mouth she asks, "Are you motion sick?" Laxus gives the same response as before but turns his head away from her in shame. She had never thought about it before but since he is a dragon slayer and all, it does make sense. Pity seeps into her heart for the powerful mage. But knowing Natsu for as long as she has, has taught her that there is almost nothing she can do to help. The best thing to do is to leave him alone. With that thought in mind she turns back to her book for the rest of the ride.

The next five hours pass quickly for Lucy and not quickly enough for Laxus. Once the train pulls into the station of Fairmount Lucy attempts to wake Laxus from his sickened state. Despite not moving, his stomach continues to put him through immense discomfort. After Lucy fails in trying to convince him that he needs to at least get off of the train she considers trying to move the lightning mage by force. She quickly discards the idea as futile though due to the differences in their sizes alone. Someone as small and meager as her cannot hope to move the hulk of muscles that is her partner an inch, better yet drag him off the train. Laxus does eventually snap out of his trance long enough for him to drop his feet to the ground and wobble off of the metal contraption with some minor help from Lucy.

Resting on a bench just outside of the terminal Laxus takes deep breathes to push the feeling of nausea down. Feeling better, he lifts himself off the bench and starts to walk down the main road. Lucy jogs to catch up with him and asks, "Are you okay?"

He refuses to look her in the eye and keeps his line of vision straight, "That never happened."

Lucy gives a small smile in understanding, "Whatever you say Laxus."

The walk to the client's house was uneventful and quiet but comfortable. Eventually they come to a humongous house on a hill with a metal fence surrounding the building and the grounds it sits on. It was a mansion with white walls, marble columns, blue roof tiles, and a dozen large windows on each floor. There is a large pathway that leads to the front of the house where it circles around a fountain directly in front of the front door. From each of the sides of the pathway and the front of the house to the fence is a large, trimmed, perfectly green lawn.

They walk up the long pathway and knock on the door with the huge brass doorknocker. A straight faced butler opens the white door, "May I help you?"

"We're the mages from Fairy Tail that Mr. Tweed hired," Lucy says politely.

"May I see your guild marks?" the butler asks with complete neutrality.

Lucy lifts the back of her right hand and Laxus lifts the left side of his shirt to showcase their respective guild marks. The butler's face does not change but he steps aside to let the mages inside. As they step inside Lucy looks around at the interior of the house. Two marble staircases line the sides of the foyer and lead to the second floor with the staircase to the third floor extending in the center from the second. Classical oil paintings and tapestries hang from the white walls and antique furniture is polished and positioned perfectly around the room. Two large doors on each side lead to large living rooms that are just as elegant as the foyer.

The butler leads them to a wide room in the back of the house. The walls are painted with a velvet red, all of the fixtures shine with their golden hues, marble columns tower evenly along the walls, and two windows as tall as the ceiling allow plenty of light. It is used as a sort of "antique" room where everywhere a person looks there is some sort of artifact, collectible, or relic to be seen. Two large plush couches are situated in the middle of the room with a rich mahogany table in between them. Another pair of doors is on the opposite side of the room.

Once Lucy and Laxus step into the room the butler promptly tells them that he will fetch his master and to please wait here before closing the door. They leave their bags near the door as Lucy moves to look at the antiques around the room while Laxus moves to reserve their seats on the couch.

Lucy takes her time looking over everything. She sees suits of perfectly polished armor, knives, swords, rings, necklaces, as well as orbs with brightly colored lights in them, talismans, statues, and instruments. The light from the huge windows gives each object an ethereal shine that illuminates its beauty and form.

Then the celestial mage reaches the smallest display case. Inside are three elegant silver celestial keys on lush velvet felt. Lucy gasps at seeing how dazzling each one looks and tries to identify each one.

The left one has a square handle with a yellow jewel etched into a picture of the top half of a strong man in the middle. The key part has a simple one-sided metal piece that is also square but has a horizontal slot in middle of it. _This key belongs to The Hero, Hercules!_

She casts her eyes on the right one. It has a circular base with lines extending from the outside to the picture in the middle. The picture has a blue crystal background with a fish jumping in the center. The end of it has metal pieces of two sides that look like fish fins. _I've read about this gate, this is the key of The Swordfish, Dorado!_

Finally, the middle one is the one Lucy thinks is the most dazzling. The key part encircles the entire end and has a bowl shape indent at the apex of the key. Small designs of swirls of smoke are also etched into the metal. Then the base of the key is circular but has three swirls of smoke on the sides and bottom of the metal and inside each one is a small ruby. In the center of the handle is a picture of a red swirling dragon. _There's no way! Is this Draco?!_

Lucy smiles down at the keys. Is the client a celestial mage like her? He must not be because each one looks polished to perfection so they must not get used very often. In fact, they look like they don't get used at all. If someone doesn't use the keys then how long have they been sitting in that case? Lucy begins to feel anxiety creep into her heart as questions quickly fill her head. Does he not realize that there are living beings attached to these objects? That there is more to each key than just their beautiful appearance? Or is that all he cares about? If so then he's making them prisoners behind this cold glass…

So caught up in her thoughts, she barely registers the doors on the other side of the room opening. She turns around in time to see a middle aged man with a cast on his leg and two crutches under his arms walking into room. She scurries to sit next to Laxus and patiently waits as the man takes a seat opposite from them.

The man is of average height and his dark hair is slightly greying. Most of his face shows a sort of likeable kindness at first glance; he has a slightly pointed nose and wide mouth with smile lines around the corners. But his black coal eyes carry a hint of cruelty and coldness within them that contradicts the rest of his face. A finely pressed brown suit is fitted to his slim build and a pair of spit-shined black shoes adorns his feet. His demeanor comes off pleasant and sophisticated as he takes his seat.

"Good morning, I'm William A. Tweed. I'm sorry for making you wait for so long. As you can see I have some mobility issues at the moment," he gestures to his broken leg.

"Good morning, my name is Lucy and this is Laxus. We didn't mind waiting. It gave me time to admire your wonderful collection," she takes a quick glance at the glass case with the keys in it.

He gives a half-chuckle half-smile, "Well thank you my dear, I appreciate your kind words. This room," he gestures with both of his hands around the room, "is where I keep my most precious and beautiful objects."

 _So he does only use the keys for their appearances,_ Lucy thinks to herself. Resentment towards her client bubbles in her veins. "I see," she grounds out through her teeth. Laxus doesn't miss the sudden change in his partner's demeanor though and quirks an eyebrow at her.

"Actually the reason I hired you is to improve my collection," the client says completely missing the hidden glare Lucy is giving him.

"Improve it?" Lucy asks trying not to let her irritation at the man show.

"Oh yes. You see, as an avid collector of all sorts of magical objects, I have to be on the lookout for any possible item that I might find of interest to me. As of the last few months I have come across some rather strange objects and I would like to add them to my collection. Normally I would go and see the objects for myself but with my leg being broken I have no choice but to stay on bedrest. I have already set up my prices and negotiations with each seller so now all I need to do is to check and see if the objects are real. That is why I hired you. I want you to go to the sellers that I have lined up and test out the objects to see if they are valid. If you say they're real then I'll buy them."

 _So we're your guinea pigs huh?_ Laxus thinks to himself before asking, "What kind of objects?"

Mr. Tweed motions with his hand towards the butler. The butler walks out of the room and within a minute walks back inside with a bundle of papers in his arms. He hands several pieces of the papers to Lucy and one piece to Laxus. He then lays a map with several brightly colored stickers on the table between the mages and his master.

Mr. Tweed starts speaking again, "The paper that you are holding Laxus is the one with the list of objects, names of the sellers, and the places and times of the meetings." Lucy cranes her neck to get a better look at Laxus' list. There are ten items on the list and they all vary among each other.

"What are their abilities?" Laxus asks noticing the lack of information on his page.

"I don't know," Mr. Murphy says plainly.

Laxus squints his eyes at the man across from him, _He's lying. He knows but he just doesn't want to tell us._

"So we're supposed to go in blind?" Lucy asks incredulously.

Mr. Tweed straightens his back, "That is why I'm paying you so much."

Lucy and Laxus look at one another when Mr. Tweed clears his throat, "The papers you are holding Lucy is the schedule I have planned for you." Lucy turns to her own stack with Laxus looking over her. "If you follow this schedule to the letter then you should have no problems on your trip. I have made hotel reservations for you for the three nights that you will be gone."

"This is a very strict schedule," Lucy says to herself. The client has their whole trip planned out down to the last minute. Literally. … _Train to Springview boards at 7:46 a.m. Train to Springview leaves at 8:03 a.m. Train to Springview arrives at 12:12 a.m.…_ Lucy reads to herself.

"I like efficiency and orderliness," Mr. Tweed says proudly. He points to map in the center of them, "Here is a map of you destinations. You begin here in Fairmount…" Mr. Tweed then goes over the schedule, items, and locations with them for the next hour and a half.

"Do you have any questions?" Mr. Tweed asks with happy expectancy after he is done talking.

"No sir, we understand," Lucy says in slight bafflement. She's all for organization but this guy takes it to a whole other level.

"Alright then." He pushes himself up off the couch, "If you would excuse me I need to rest and you need to catch your first train. My butler will see you out."

Laxus and Lucy stand up from their spots on the couch. As they begin to walk out of the room, Lucy can't help but glance towards the three keys she discovered earlier. Sadness fills her body at the sight of them. They grab their bags from beside the door and follow the butler to the front door.

Once they are off of the grounds they stop and look back at the schedule. "We don't have to follow that you know," Laxus mumbles grumpily.

Lucy looks at him curiously, "How so?"

Laxus looks pointedly away from her, "I can just teleport us between the towns. That way we'll save time."

A knowing smile spreads across Lucy's lips as she looks at him coyly, "You just don't want to ride on all of the trains."

"Hmph," he grunts as he still refuses to look at her. She hit the nail on the head. Just the thought of all of those train rides during their earlier briefing nearly made him sick.

She raises her fingertips to her mouth and laughs at his obvious denial. "Alright Laxus if it will make you feel better. We'll just teleport instead of taking the trains," she says with a bright smile. He offered to come with her on a job to help her pay for her rent. The least she could do is to try to make sure he is not totally miserable.

Looking pleased with the change of plans, he spreads one of arms, "Let's get going to the first town then."

Lucy blushes at the thought of being so close to his body again, "The job doesn't start until tomorrow and the town's name is Pinnella Pass."

"Yeah but if we get there today then all we have to do is get up and meet with the seller in the morning."

She continues to blush as she steps into his strong embrace. The familiar tingling spreads through her body before she feels weightless once again. Twenty minutes later they land on soft green grass on the outskirts of Pinnella Pass. Lucy immediately drops to her knees and clutches her stomach in agony. _It's not as bad as the first time but it still sucks,_ she thinks as she starts to take deep breaths.

Pinnella Pass is a normal town by any standard. It's evening when Lucy and Laxus walk through the town and both make a unanimous decision that it's time for dinner. They stop at a kiosk and order out the whole cart. After eating their fill, they decide to locate the store where the seller is before finding a room for the night.

It is located in the middle of town on one side of the town square. The store has lights, gadgets, and toys under a sign that says 'Murphy's Magnificent Magically Matters'. Lucy looks through the window and sees an assortment of magical doohickeys, contraptions, and novelties throughout the store. She also sees a kind looking elderly man with a worn leather apron behind the cashier and assumes that he must be Mr. Murphy. He is not as old as Master but he is definitely older.

"This looks like the place," she says in awe. She has never seen most of the things in this store and is curious to test everything out.

Laxus snorts at her, "You look like a kid."

She sticks her tongue out at him and turns back to the window display. "Come on we need to find an inn," she hears him say beside her.

Lucy pulls herself away from the window only to find her blonde companion walking toward an inn on the other side of the square. Luck is on their side as the inn has a room with two beds and a view of the square available. Even though it's only 9:00 in the evening, both mages decide to turn in for the night. Their first appointment is at 7 a.m. sharp and they want to get something to eat before they begin their day.

* * *

Breakfast was delicious. The inn served an all-you-can-eat buffet style line up and both mages ate till there wasn't any room left in them. It is 6:50 and both blondes make their way across the stone pavement. Lucy knocks on the door and waits patiently beside Laxus. The same old man from yesterday unlocks the door. "Can I help you?"

"Hello, my name is Lucy and this is Laxus. Mr. Tweed sent us," she says sweetly.

"Oh yes! Please come in!" he stands aside and lets the mages enter. "I heard that he would be sending someone in his stead. Please follow me; the item is in the back," he says kindly.

Lucy and Laxus follow behind Mr. Murphy as he leads them to the back of the store. Lucy looks around in wonder and amazement while Laxus has a look of boredom and indifference with his arms crossed. They walk into the back room and he brings them to a desk with a small box in the middle of it.

"Well here we are," he says with a smile as waves his hand over the box. Mr. Murphy opens the lid and inside sits two dice in little square holes in a cushion covered with felt. Instead of dots there are written numbers to represent each side. Lucy bends down over one side to get a closer look while Laxus tilts his head down.

"What are they?" Lucy asks as she glances up to the seller.

Still holding his kind smile, "These are what I call Luck Dice. They bring luck to whoever rolls them."

"How do they work?" Lucy asks as she straightens up.

Mr. Murphy puts his hands in the pockets of his apron, "Well the actual casting is very simple: a person picks them up and rolls them like any other dice. But how the luck is determined is based on five rules. One, if the sum of the dice is odd then the roller will be given good luck. Two, if the sum of the dice is even then the roller will be given bad luck. Three, the bigger the sum of the numbers the more of the luck is created. Four, if you roll doubles then whatever amount of luck you would normally have gets doubled. And finally, five, the luck lasts for three days."

Lucy clasps her hands behind her back, "So let me see if I understand this. If I was to roll a one and a two then the sum would be three. According to your rules, since I rolled a small odd number then I would gain a small amount of good luck. Now if I was to roll two fives then that would be equal to ten. I would normally get pretty bad luck from rolling the ten alone but it's also doubled because I rolled doubles so that would give me terrible luck. Right?"

The old man gives her a wide smile and a nod, "You got it. My, my, you are smart. Most people have a harder time remembering the rules."

She gives him a bright grin, "Thank you. What if two people roll the dice, does it work for both of them?"

"Yes, the luck will be split between them."

"Okay. Would you mind if we test them out?" Lucy is surprised at how exciting this seems to her.

Mr. Murphy shakes his head, "Please, be my guest."

Lucy turns to look up at Laxus happily, "Let's both try it."

Laxus shrugs his shoulders, "Alright."

Each of the blondes picks up a dice. Laxus throws his dice first. Both Lucy and Mr. Murphy watch with bated anticipation. The die hits the hard surface of the desk and the clang from the hit resonates through the room. It tumbles over and over across the surface before it slows down to turn over one edge and stops. The number on the top side is a 6.

Mr. Murphy's face slightly falters while Lucy gulps. No matter what she rolls she is going to get at least a medium sized amount of luck. Laxus moves out of the way and watches Lucy as she steps up to take her turn.

She straightens up and shakes the hand with the dice in it. She tosses the die in a small curve and watches it hit the hard desk with the same clang as the other dice before bouncing away. It spins in cartwheels in slow motions over the desk and each hit on the desk is deafening to everyone in the room. Slowing down from its momentum the dice does its final turn and lands on…


	8. Chapter 8

**I'm sorry for the late update. I will have longer periods in between updates due to school. I can only do so much at a time. Thank you for understanding. I appreciate and love the support I get from everyone and I hope to continue to have it. Thanks for reading and please review.**

 **Hiro Mashima owns Fairy Tail and all corresponding characters. I only own the extra characters and plot.**

6\. Lucy's eyes widen at the small number. She has rolled a 6 and combined with Laxus' number, they have rolled two 6s. Doubles.

She gulps as she thinks about what these two numbers mean. Theoretically, since they rolled the highest even number by rolling doubles they will get the worst luck possible. How does it work? Will it hurt? Who will have it worse, Laxus or her? Why does this always happen to her? _Lucky Lucy my ass…_ she thinks bitterly to herself.

Laxus' eyebrows rise in slight surprise at the little dice. _What are the odds of that?_ he thinks to himself. He turns his head to look down at the celestial mage at the same time that she turns to look up at him with wide eyes. They look over to Mr. Murphy and see an mixture of worry, nervousness, and surprise on his face.

A heavy suspense fills the air around the mages as they wait for the supposed luck spell to cast itself. But after a few moments of nothing happening, the mages glance at each other out of the corner of their eyes before looking expectantly at the old man.

"Um, isn't something supposed to happen?" Lucy asks hesitantly.

Mr. Murphy clears his throat, "No, the luck just gradually happens. There are no seals in the beginning."

"Then how do we know if the dice have worked or not?" Laxus asks slightly miffed.

"You'll just have to see for yourself," Mr. Murphy says somewhat reluctantly.

Lucy and Laxus look at one another before looking back at the old man in exasperation. "Mr. Murphy, I'm sorry bu-" Lucy starts.

Mr. Murphy holds up one hand to stop Lucy and gives her a hopeful look, "Before you make any decisions on whether or not to buy the dice, please wait three days. The luck will wear off and you can decide then."

Lucy looks up at Laxus and raises her eyebrows in silent questioning. Laxus shrugs his shoulders and frowns in indifference. Lucy turns back towards Mr. Murphy with small smile and gives him a nod.

The shop owner gives the two blondes a wide grin, "It's almost time for me to open my store. You can look around if you like."

"No thank you, we need to be leaving. Thank you for taking the time to show us the dice," Lucy says pleasantly.

"Of course," Mr. Murphy holds out his hand and gestures to the front door.

Lucy turns and exits through the back room with Laxus and Mr. Murphy a couple of feet behind her. _The dice probably aren't real,_ she thinks to herself. Since there were no seals or magic physically casted she has a hard time believing that the dice are in fact real. A part of her wanted the dice to be real before she rolled them but now that same part of her regrets having ever touched them because of the implications of their rolls. Whether the dice are real or not, her and Laxus are going to have to wait three days to find out. The part of her that hopes that they are fake being far greater than the alternative.

As she walks around the counter lost in her thoughts, Lucy steps on a stray toy that had fallen from one of the displays. The toy slides along the wood floor and causes Lucy's foot to slip out from under her. "Wuhh-" she yelps as the front of her body jerks forward. A ripping noise is heard as her face makes contact with the hard wood floor. "Oww…"

"Oh my gosh, are you alright?!" Mr. Murphy asks in dismay as he hurries over to Lucy's fallen body.

"Uhh, yeah, I'm alright. I just tripped," Lucy says as she hoists herself up onto her knees. _That's funny, I didn't even see…No, it wasn't the dice. It was just a coincidence. Yeah. Just a simple coincidence,_ she tries to reassure herself. Mr. Murphy holds out his hand to the young lady which she readily accepts. Helping her to her feet, he apologizes to Lucy for the misplaced toy.

Laxus comes to stand beside the old man and his eyes catch the sight of black lace. Tilting his head he gets a fantastic view of Lucy's backside. And half of her sexy black lace panties. Shear black lace has always been his favorite thing to see a woman wear. So now that he sees half of Lucy's perfect ass barely covered by the fabric he can't help but stare. He would be lying if he said that he has never fantasized about seeing Lucy in nothing but black lacy underwear waiting for him in his bed. Of course, she never kept the underwear on for very long in those situations.

Lucy tries to reassure Mr. Murphy by telling him that it was her fault because she wasn't paying attention. She looks over to see Laxus staring at her. Confused at what he was concentrating so hard on, she follows his gaze to her hip. Normally, her skirt has a large slit on both sides but now one slit has a huge tear. The tear extends from the top of the slit and extends around her hip across the top of her butt cheek. The torn fabric is hanging down from the back of her skirt and is not concealing half of the bikini panties that she, oh so smartly, decided to wear that morning. A small shriek escapes from Lucy's mouth as heat rises to her cheeks. She yanks the ripped material across her exposed skin as she turns to glare and yell at Laxus, "Quit staring you pervert!"

With the view of her panties blocked, a startled Laxus looks an embarrassed Lucy in the eye before reluctantly turning his head away. Lucy's cheeks grow a deeper shade of red when she realizes that she has just flashed her underwear to her guild mate. Her very handsome, muscly guild mate. _If I can make it back to the inn I can change and pretend none of this ever happened_ , Lucy inwardly plans to herself.

Lucy says a quick goodbye before running out the store while holding the torn fabric of her skirt across her skin in one hand. Laxus walks past a dazed Mr. Murphy and follows steadily behind Lucy as she makes a beeline across the town square for the inn. Within minutes she is pulling out her hotel room key and pushing the unlocked door open. She doesn't bother holding the door for Laxus and immediately goes to pick a pair of short denim shorts and a pink spaghetti-strap tank top from her pink suitcase.

Refusing to meet Laxus' eye as he crosses the threshold, she runs inside the bathroom and slams the door shut. Laxus smirks and walks across the room to pack his bag. He can hear Lucy calling herself a klutz through the walls and he lightly chuckles. A few minutes later, Lucy walks out wearing a change of clothes.

Lucy begins to pack her bag in rigid motions as she asks, "It's 8:00 right now and our next appointment is at 2:30 in Springview. Do you want to leave right now or do you want to wait for a few hours?"

Laxus frowns at her very obvious attempt to avoid what happened in the magic shop. "Let's go ahead and go, we can go find the shop when we get there too."

She gives a small nod without looking at him. "I'm going to ask Virgo to hold onto my bag until we get to the next hotel. Would you like her to hold on to yours too?"

"Sure," Laxus puts his drawstring bag next to Lucy.

After Lucy finishes packing she pulls out a golden key with an ornate look. The end has a heart shaped tip with a fleurs-de-lis symbol cut out of it. "Virgo!" she yells.

A bright yellow light flashes before a spirit pops up in its place. Virgo has short pink hair and a small neutral face with big blue eyes with dark circles around the irises. She wears a black maid outfit, a white apron with frills along the edge, white thigh-high socks, and black sandals on her petite frame. She would look like a regular maid if it wasn't for the shackles around her wrists.

"Punishment Princess?" asks Virgo with complete neutrality.

"No Virgo, no punishment. Can you hold onto our bags for us?" Lucy asks.

"Of course Princess," Virgo grabs the bags. "Is there anything else I can assist you with?"

"No Virgo, that will be all for now. I'll call you later," Lucy replies. Virgo gives a quick bow to the blondes before she exits in a puff of smoke.

"Alright, let's go!" Lucy says toward Laxus with an upbeat attitude. Laxus follows Lucy out the door.

The two mages check out of the little inn and Laxus guides them behind the building. "What are we doing?" Lucy asks confused.

"There are too many people in the square. I scare people when I use my lightning so I can't use my magic in crowded areas," Laxus says with a straight face.

Lucy raises an eyebrow but doesn't question him. Laxus opens his arms and Lucy steps inside of his reach. Tightly wrapping both of her arms around his waist, Lucy lays her head in the center of Laxus' chest. She is amazed about how safe she feels against his body. Seeing Lucy casually hug him and how well she fits against him, Laxus feels slightly embarrassed and a small blush spreads over his cheeks for a second.

Laxus expands his magic from his center outward to his skin before overlaying it to Lucy's body. Fully engulfing both of their bodies in lightning, they speed off from the ground and start to soar through the air to their next stop.

Thirty minutes later the two blondes arrive at their next destination. It is a medium sized town named Springview. Most of the tall narrow buildings are made out of clay and wood with much semblance between them. The cobblestone roads wind and intertwine with one another and create a complex network.

Like the others, Laxus lands on the outer part of town. Lucy whines in misery over her stomach and Laxus gently lowers her to the ground. Sympathy and something else runs through Laxus as he watches the small woman take calming breaths.

When he asked her yesterday if they could skip the trains and teleport instead, he never expected her to readily agree to it. Never mind her saying that they could skip _all_ of the trains. She must not have considered that she would be the one getting sick instead of him and that bothers him.

Why would she not think about her own health? Does she not care about herself? Or…or…does she care about his health more? Is this is an attempt to make him happy? That thought strikes a chord within him. Why would she do that? Most people have never cared about his happiness and he has learned to make do with that knowledge. Yet here is this young woman who gives up her chances at being happy and healthy without a second thought so he doesn't have to suffer. Lucy would put herself in harm's way for him. He doesn't want that. He wants her to be happy, safe, and healthy even if he has to endure the hardships instead. Happiness, concern, and guilt fill his chest at the idea of being cared for so greatly by the celestial mage. He makes a mental note that if she says that she wants to take the train to avoid getting sick, he would go without a fight.

 _You want her…you need her…_ a small voice purrs in the back of his mind. He knows what part of him is saying that and he doesn't want to deal with that part of him right now. Everything is too complicated at the moment to deal with it. The voice makes his head pound and he has to resist the urge to hold his head.

Lucy stands up once she feels that she is stable enough. She glances up at Laxus to see him looking at her with a myriad of emotions. Calling out to him seems to break him out of his trance and he tries to cover up his absentmindedness with seriousness. "Let's go," he says as he walks away into town.

Shaking her head, Lucy follows the tall man into town. They stop after a couple of blocks to double check the address. "Spring Valley Street in Springview," Lucy reads off the list that Mr. Tweed gave them. Looking around they decide to continue on their current path to find their next host.

Walking around town, Lucy looks at each street sign to find the correct one. She sees Spring Way, Happy Springs, Spring Hills, Spring Lane, Spring Mountain, South Spring Street, Meadows Springs, North Spring Street, and Lost Springs but no Spring Valley Street. Laxus and Lucy stop in the middle of town after an hour and a half of looking at signs and walking aimlessly down big streets, small streets, wide streets, narrow streets, curving streets, and streets that lead to dead ends. People walk to and fro past the mages in a hurry.

"This is crazy! How can one town have so many streets that all have similar names?!" Lucy yells with her hands in the air.

Laxus doesn't look it but he feels just as aggravated as his partner. It was a good call on his part to come to the town earlier rather than later. If they had to deal with this at the last second they would have missed their appointment.

"Let's ask someone," Lucy says. She turns around and sees a man in a suit walking in her direction. "Excuse me-" she starts but the man passes her by without a glance. "Fine then," Lucy hisses at the rude man.

The next person she spots is another man wearing more casual clothes. "Excuse me," she calls out to him.

"Yes?" the man asks.

"Do you know where Spring Valley Street is?"

"No, sorry. I'm not from around here." the man replies.

"Okay, thanks for the stopping anyway."

The man gives a quick nod before continuing on his way.

Deciding to give it one more chance, Lucy stops a middle aged woman and asks her if she knows where the street is. The woman thinks about it for a minute before shaking head. Lucy gives her a wry smile and thanks her for her help.

After the woman walks away, Laxus says, "Guess nobody knows where it is."

"What are we going to do?" Lucy asks in exaggeration.

"Maybe there's a map somewhere," Laxus says in a calm voice.

Lucy looks around the immediate area but finds no map in sight. She guesses they have to go find one. Where would a traveler find a map? The only place that she can think off is the town hall. "Let's go to the town hall. There is bound to be some kind of map there," she suggests.

"Fine."

They've walked past the town hall several times already so the two mages know exactly where to go. As they walk inside the large double doors, a long line greets them. A multitude of people form a line that leads to a single worker behind a desk on the far side of the building. Lucy and Laxus look around but see no other workers present. Random talk, crying from a baby, angry grumbling, and shuffling of feet fill the room.

"I guess we have to stand in line," Lucy says with a sigh.

"This will take too long. Let's go find another place," Laxus says as he turns to walk out.

"Where exactly?"

Laxus looks back over his shoulder, "I don't know, just somewhere else."

"But Laxus we've looked everywhere and didn't find any map shops. And we tried asking people but nobody can help us," Lucy tries to reason with the blonde man.

"It's a waste of time to stand in this line, I would rather keep looking."

Lucy puts a finger to her chin in thought, "How about I stand in the line while you keep looking? If one of us finds it then we can tell the other."

Laxus nods his head in agreement. "I'll be back in one hour," he says as he walks out the door.

"Okay. See you later," Lucy says the last part to the door. She turns around and with a huff walks over to the line. Every few minutes the line will move one or two footsteps. Lucy figures that she'll have to wait around forty-five minutes for it to be her turn.

Lucy steps up behind a tall man with a worn out overcoat and her nose is immediately assaulted with the worst case of body odor she has ever smelled. She starts to silently gag before she covers her mouth and nose with her hand. The smelly man doesn't pay any heed to Lucy. When the line moves, the man moves forward and Lucy realizes in utter disgust that she has to stand in the foul-smelling spot he just left. After fifteen minutes, Lucy has moved a quarter of the way through the line and is still choking on the air around her head. _I'll never be able to smell again after this!_ Lucy thinks to herself. But she has no other choice so she resigns herself to her long-waiting, smelly fate.

Meanwhile, Laxus is lost. Completely and utterly lost. He thought he took a right on Left Spring Lane but apparently he took a left on Right Spring Road. _Who the hell makes these signs?!_ he complains to himself in irritation. Every time he thinks he is going the right way he somehow winds up going the total opposite direction. Feeling frustrated, Laxus decides that there is no use in continuing his search. After thirty minutes of searching, he begins to try to find his way back to Lucy.

Looking for any sign that he had seen earlier in the day, he wonders aimlessly through the streets. Laxus is walking on the edge of one of the few not-so-busy streets where large pools of water are spotted along the pavement. Rapid hoof clops and a squeaky carriage wheel sound from behind him. Paying no mind to the carriage, Laxus continues walking along looking for any familiar signs. As the fast moving carriage gets within an arm's reach of Laxus, the wheel hits the pool of water on the ground between them. The carriage never slows and causes a wall of water to splash up into the air. Laxus is directly behind the wave and before he knew what hit him, he has every part of his left side soaked from street water.

Laxus stands there half drenched as he watches the carriage ride away into the distance. Anger starts to boil in his veins at the nerve of the carriage driver. And getting lost, not finding the seller, being separated from Lucy, and his ever growing headache that he's had ever since he agreed to go on this job is not helping his mood either. Taking deep breaths, Laxus calms himself down before he accidently shocks some unsuspecting bystander. Continuing on his way, Laxus is determined to find Lucy and get out of this town as soon as possible.

Lucy is the second in line. She can hardly wait to get out of there and take a shower to sanitize herself from the stench of the man in front of her. A woman with a little boy finishes their business with the clerk and turns to leave through the front door.

The kid is holding a drink in an open cup in one hand and holding his mother's hand with the other when his foot catches a snare in the rug beside the line. His mother catches him before he falls but the cup and the liquid flies out of his small hand. Lucy watches in slow motion as the liquid spills from the cup in midair and splashes on her shorts and shirt. She gasps as she looks down at the mess.

"Oh my goodness, I am so sorry!" the mother hurriedly says.

Lucy looks at the worried mother and the sad little boy. She can't be mad at them, it was just an accident. "It's alright, no harm done. I'll wash it out when I get home," she says gently.

The mother looks at her with soft eyes, "It was chocolate milk so you might have to put some extra detergent on it."

"Thanks, I'll remember that," Lucy says as she looks back down at the setting stain.

The mother gives a small smile before pulling on her son's hand. As they walk away the boy turns around and waves goodbye to Lucy. Lucy smiles and wriggles her fingers at him.

"Next in line," the clerk calls out.

Lucy steps up to the counter and has to force herself not to gag from the filthy air that was left behind by the clerk's last customer. The woman behind the counter looks like she has seen better days and is in no mood to put up with anyone's shit.

"Hello, I am looking for Spring Valley Street. Do you know where that is?" Lucy asks as nicely as she can.

The clerk looks apathetic, "No. Ne-"

"Wait, wait, wait, wait!" Lucy sputters out, "Don't you have a map or something?"

The look on the woman's face doesn't change as she heaves a heavy sigh, "Come with me." She takes Lucy behind the counter and to a table away from the line. "There's the maps, help yourself," she points to some rolled up papers. "When you're done put everything back," she says in monotone voice and turns to go back to her chair.

"Thanks a lot," Lucy says with a hint of sarcasm. Lucy finds the town map and lays it on the table. The chaotic map makes her inwardly cringe and makes her wish she had never decided to find the damn thing. Shaking her head to clear the negative thoughts, she sets to looking at every street, road, lane, and path with a name.

It's a quarter past eleven by the time Laxus reaches the town hall. He walks inside and it looks the same as when he left. Except with no Lucy. Trying to find a head of blonde hair he sees her behind the counter. Laxus walks past the long line and behind the counter to see Lucy with her head in her hands.

"What's the matter?" he asks gruffly.

"It's impossible," Lucy murmurs into her hands. She throws her head back and her hands up in the air with exaggerated anger, "There is no way that there is this many ways to name a street Spring!"

Laxus' frown deepens, "So I take it you didn't find the street then."

Lucy pouts at him, "I would like to see you find it."

Laxus smells something foreign and he wrinkles his nose in distaste, "What's that smell?"

Lucy she leans back in her chair, crosses her arms, and hisses through her teeth, "That would be the smell of a sweaty man who has never heard of deodorant or a shower!" Laxus decides not to press the issue.

"Did you find anything?" Lucy changes the subject.

"Hmph," Laxus looks away.

Lucy heaves a heavy sigh, "What are we going to do?"

The clerk turns around and yells from the desk, "Are you sure you're in the right Springview? There's another one two hours by train from here."

Laxus and Lucy's mouths drop and shadows descend over their eyes at what the woman just said. "Another Springview..." Lucy says what is on both of their minds. Coming back to herself, Lucy tries to ask with minimal amounts of irritability "Do you have a map of that Springview?"

"No." The clerk says rudely.

Lucy huffs out her nose and Laxus scowls at the woman. Lucy gets up and starts looking through the maps to find one that shows where the other Springview is located. Finding the correct one, she sees that the second Springview is indeed two hours away by train to the north. Laxus watches the petite woman work.

"You wanna try it?" Lucy asks hesitantly to Laxus.

"Don't have much of a choice now do we?" Laxus says with a neutral tone.

Lucy's lips pull to one side as she realizes that he's right. Both of the mages start to roll up the maps and put them away. They walk out from behind the counter and past the line that never seems to get any shorter. Once they reach the outside, they walk into a small alley. Laxus wraps his arms around Lucy's small frame once again and the two shoot off in a burst of light toward their impromptu destination.

* * *

The Fairy Tail guild doors open to reveal Freed, Evergreen, and Bickslow. All three members of the Thunder God Tribe walk into their guild hall and look around for their leader.

Laxus left their group three days ago to help Lucy with her problem with Natsu and they still haven't heard from him. They figured that he must be back by now and went to look for him at his house but had no luck. The only other place he could be is at the guild which is where they currently are. But just like at his house, there's no Laxus in sight. All three members, particularly Freed, start to get anxious at their leader's sudden disappearance.

"Freed!" Mira yells with a wave toward the green haired mage.

Freed, Evergreen, and Bickslow walk over to the bar maid. "Yes Mira, may I help you?" Freed asks with slight impatience. Usually he is much more polite and formal but with Laxus missing, his nerves are on end and he wants to focus his time on finding his beloved leader.

Mira looks around her to make sure no one is listening in. "What's going on with Laxus and Lucy?" Mira asks in excitement as she leans toward the three members of Laxus' team.

All three pairs of eyes go wide at Mira's question. "What do you mean?" they ask at the same time.

"Is something going on between Laxus and Lucy?" Mira urges them.

They stare at Mira dumbfounded. Bickslow recovers first and asks with a perverted smile, "No, not that we know of. Why? Did you catch them in the act or something?"

The demon bar maid pouts at Bickslow's answer, "No, no. It was nothing like that."

"What is _it_ exactly? Do you know something? Has Lucy done something to Laxus?" Freed demands in a slight panic.

Mira holds up her hands, "Calm down Freed. I'm just asking because Laxus was acting so funny yesterday and I thought maybe you guys would know what's going on with him."

Evergreen's curiosity perks up, "He was here yesterday? When?"

Mira tilts her head in confusion at the question. "Yesterday morning. He came in with Lucy and then they left to go on a job. Did he not tell you guys?"

Shock washes over the three mages as they tried to wrap their minds around the new information. This time Freed is the first to recover and he presses Mira further for answers, "No, he did not tell us. Why was he accompanying Lucy? How was he acting 'funny'?"

Mira clasps her hands together against her cheek and gives him a smile with stars in her eyes, "I'm not sure. He just showed up with Lucy and said he was going on a job with her. Though I do know one thing. The entire time I saw him, he seemed…different. Like he was satisfied or something."

Evergreen, Bickslow, and Freed's mouths drop and a blush creep over their cheeks at the idea at what Mira is implying.

Freed tries to figure out how the two could have possibly gotten together. Laxus has never mentioned having any romantic feelings for the celestial mage so Laxus could not have initiated anything. Logically, that only leaves Lucy. The only thing Freed can fathom is that Lucy has either drugged or casted a love charm on Laxus in order to obtain him for her own means. Freed can feel his stomach twisting and knotting as he imagines all of the terrible things Lucy could have done to his beloved Laxus.

"And I also know that you three are going to stay here and not bother them," Mira says with a sickly sweet smile and cold eyes. The obvious threat of death if they disagree with her hangs in the air.

Freed gulps, "Of course. When are they due to return?" He knows better than to test Mira's patience. Whether he goes after Laxus or not, he won't get to see his leader now.

"Saturday," Mira says happily.

"Alright. Thank you Mira for the information." Freed says with a shaky nod of his head. He then escorts his teammates to the table that they have deemed theirs.

"Are you guys thinking what I'm thinking?" Bickslow asks as his tongue rolls out.

Evergreen takes her fan and smacks Bickslow on the side of the head, "Quit be so perverted! We don't know if they even did anything!"

"Evergreen is right Bickslow. We shall not assume that they…" Freed trails off. He straightens his back and clears his throat, "But we must admit that something has happened between Laxus and Lucy. Once Laxus and Lucy return, we will confront them as to what has transpired."

Evergreen raises her eyebrows and gives Freed a skeptical look, "Do you really think we should do that? It's their business Freed." She knows how dedicated the man is to Laxus and that is what worries her.

"Yeah, let 'em do what they want. I can't wait to find out how feisty Cheerleader is in bed," Bickslow agrees with Evergreen in a roundabout way.

"No, we must. As Laxus' body guard core we should be certain that Lucy has not brought him harm or manipulated him in any form or fashion," Freed says in his firm and serious voice. Bickslow and Evergreen know from experience that once Freed uses that voice, there is no point in arguing. Both of the other members of the Thunder God Tribe reluctantly nod.

As they sit in silence, all three mages think about their current situation. Freed has a serious and almost deadly look in his eye. Bickslow imagines Lucy in very naughty positions. Evergreen does not have a good feeling about any of this.

* * *

"It's not here either," Lucy whines with her head back and arms down by her side.

"This is fucking ridiculous," Laxus curses the world and all Springviews in it.

It has been over two hours since they arrived in the second Springview and have been walking around to find their street. Just like in the first Springview, no such street exists. Both mages were near their breaking points and were close to giving up when they spotted a map near a bridge. This map is far less complicated than the map Lucy looked at earlier that day but has far less street names on it. Neither one found the street they were looking for. As they are about to brainstorm as to what they should do they hear a ragged voice call out to them.

"You two looking for somethin'?" A bum in rags under the bridge slurs.

Lucy looks at Laxus skeptically before answering the bum hesitantly, "Yeah, we're looking for Spring Valley Street."

The bum rolls his eyes up in thought, "Spring Valley Street…Spring Valley Street…Oh yea I know Spring Valley Street! You in the wrong place. You need to go to the other Springview."

Laxus and Lucy's shoulders slump. "Are you kidding?" they say together.

"Nope! You want directions? I can give 'em to ya," the bum slurs with a smile on his face.

"Go ahead." Laxus looks at Lucy, "It's better than nothing."

"Alrigh'. Go to where the town hall is. If you facin' the front and look left there are two really tall buil'ings. Go 'tween there and go till ya see a short tavern. The road right 'side it goes right past ya street."

Lucy pulls out her wallet and grabs a few jewels. "Here you go, thanks for your help."

The bum happily takes the money, "Thank ya ma'am! Ask any time!" Lucy gives him a light smile before feeling Laxus grab onto her from behind and shoot off into the sky.

Twenty minutes later, Laxus lands near the original spot they landed in hours earlier. Lucy takes a while recovering from her sickness but as soon as she does they set off to the town hall. Once they reach the familiar building, they follow the bum's directions.

They follow the road between the two tall buildings until they reach a small tavern. There is a small road along the side and the two mages turn down it. Before long they see a small cul-de-sac-like path with the name 'Spring Valley Street' written on a little green sign.

"Would you look at that, the bum was right," Laxus says in genuine surprise.

"Yeah," Lucy agrees. She pulls out the list with the names of the sellers on it and reads off their next seller, "Our client is called Ms. Kitty and she should be selling two items."

"Let's go talk to her then. God knows we spent enough time looking for her place," Laxus says almost bitterly.

They walk down the little cul-de-sac before seeing a sign that reads "Ms. Kitty's Playtime" above a door to a house. It is a narrow three-story house made out of dark wood with clay roof tiles. Tightly drawn curtains hang in the windows and a steep staircase leads to a door with a brass knocker.

"This must be the place," Lucy says absentmindedly.

They walk up to the door and knock using the brass knocker. With a small push, the unlocked door swings open to reveal a narrow hallway with two big rooms on either side and a narrow staircase on the left wall.

"Hello, anyone here?" Lucy calls out as her and Laxus step inside.

"I'll be right with you! Please feel free to look around anywhere you want on the first two floors!" a woman with a sultry voice calls back from further in the house.

Laxus and Lucy look at one another in confusion. They step further into the house and peep into the rooms on either side of the hallway. Lucy eyes go wide and she gasps. She covers her mouth with her hand as her cheeks bloom into a hundred shades of red from everything she sees. Laxus' face falls and he blinks in shock at the contents of the two rooms.

Both rooms hold a variety of sex objects. Dildos, whips, outfits, anal beads, piercings, blow up dolls, muzzles, flesh boxes, trapezes, masks, fake weapons, blindfolds, tie-ups and many other things are laid out along the floors, walls, and multitude of tables throughout the rooms. Lucy and Laxus can only assume that the rest of the house is organized the same way.

Both blondes slowly turn to look at one another in shock, embarrassment, and mock horror.

"We went through all of that for this?" a still stupefied Laxus whispers. They went through all of that headache just so they could visit an adult store? He has never been in a sex store before in his life and the first time he goes he just has to have Lucy, of all people, with him. Soft, luscious, sexy, curvy, innocent Lucy. _Just fucking perfect_ , Laxus thinks to himself.

Lucy can't bring herself to speak and meagerly nods her head. She is in a sex house with Laxus Dreyer. Only Laxus Dreyer. The first job they take together and this is where they end up. Uncomfortable and awkward does not even begin to describe how she feels at the moment.

They don't know how long they stood there pretending that there were not dildos in the next room when a slender woman walks to the front door followed by a woman in a black leather teddy.

"Now remember, make sure you use the lube otherwise it might get stuck," the woman in leather says with a smile. Lucy squeaks in her throat and looks down at the floor while Laxus suddenly finds the stairs very interesting.

The woman in leather closes the door behind the slender woman and turns to the two mages, "Hello sweethearts. My name is Ms. Kitty, the Mistress of Sensuality. Are you here for the fittings?"

Ms. Kitty has long red hair that is tied up in a loss bun, blue eyes with long eyelashes, and plump lips with red lipstick. Her figure is petite and while she is not very curvy, she oozes sex appeal. She wears a simple black leather teddy, black fishnet stockings, and black stilettos.

 _What kind of fittings?!_ Lucy thinks horridly to herself. "We-we are here on behalf of W-William A. Tweed," she says shakily and in utter embarrassment.

Ms. Kitty's face lights up. "Oh! You're here about the doll and handcuffs! You're a little bit early but that doesn't matter. Follow me; the things are down in the basement." Ms. Kitty turns around and walks down the hall. Lucy and Laxus take a deep breath and glance at each other out of the corner of their eyes. They silently agree to prepare themselves so if she tries something they won't be caught off guard.

They follow her down to a large basement and she flicks on the light. Inside there are shelves, boxes, and a work bench that have an assortment of broken sex objects on them. She walks over to a nude mannequin on a vertical stand against a far wall and pushes it forward to the middle of the room. "Here's the doll," she says as she waves her hand over it.

The wooden female mannequin stands around five and a half feet tall, has an average build, and is more pretty than sexy. She has a short black hair threaded through her head, her eyes and lips are painted green and pink respectively, and her facial bone structure is slim. The skin is painted a pale skin tone and has several moles, freckles, and scars painted on her to give the doll a realistic vibe. But the paint is everywhere on her body and reminds the onlooker that she is just a doll.

"Wow…" Lucy says in amazement, "It's beautiful."

"This doll was given to me by a close friend whom has passed away now. As far as the history of the doll goes, it was made 112 years ago by a…swith…sift…seth…" Ms. Kitty tries to recall the word.

"A seith mage?" Lucy steps in.

"That's it! The seith mage lost his wife to one of the many diseases that were prevalent 112 years ago. He could never bring himself to be intimate with any other woman so, in his grief, he made a special doll that looked just like her in order to preserve her memory and that he could pretend was the real thing." Ms. Kitty finishes.

"So she's a sex doll made to look like the guy's deceased wife? That's just creepy," a shiver goes down Lucy's spine. "Can you confirm that it's magical?"

Ms. Kitty turns the doll around and pulls on some hair in the back of the dolls head. A medium sized door opens up and reveals an empty lacrima inside the head. "The doll has had this space for as long as I've had it so I think that the space must have some kind of function. And yes, this is a sex doll but I have the inkling that she can be more than that. As for what exactly, I don't know."

Lucy purses her lips together in thought then an idea pops into her head, "Would you mind if we call somebody and get his opinion on the doll? He's a seith mage and he might be able to tell us how it works."

"Please, be my guest!" Ms. Kitty says gesturing toward the doll.

"Can you call Bickslow?" Lucy asks Laxus.

Laxus nods his head at celestial mage, "Yeah but the communication lacrima is in my bag."

Lucy grabs Virgo's key from her key ring and summons the pink haired spirit. Virgo pops up with both of their bags in hand. Laxus takes his bag and pulls out the communication lacrima. Sending a small amount of energy into the orb, he thinks of Bickslow before handing the orb to Virgo for her to hold. Lucy stands beside Laxus as they wait for Bickslow to pick up.

Bickslow's face appears after a minute. "Hello?" Bickslow says.

"Bickslow, we need your help." Laxus says to his friend.

Laxus hears Freed fret in the background before Bickslow is violently pushed away to show the green haired man. "Do you require our assistance Laxus?! Where are you?! Are you hurt?!" Freed yells in a frenzy.

Lucy and Laxus deadpan at Freed's overprotectiveness, "No Freed, I just need to talk to Bickslow."

"But Laxus…" Freed begins.

Bickslow returns the favor from a minute ago and shoves Freed out of the way, "Sure, whatever you need boss. Oh, hey Cheerleader!" Bickslow says finally noticing Lucy.

Lucy waves to the Bickslow before Laxus leans toward her. "You ask him."

Giving Laxus a nod, Lucy addresses the seith mage, "Listen Bickslow, we want your opinion on something. We will understand if you don't know anything about it." Bickslow nods at Lucy's words. "We are on a job and we have to examine this magical doll. The owner says a seith mage made it 112 years ago and did something magic related to it. None of us knows how it works and we were hoping maybe you would have some kind of an idea."

"What kind of doll is it?" Bickslow asks with his arms crossed.

"It's a female wooden mannequin."

Bickslow drops his head in thought before suddenly asking, "Is there a lacrima in her head?"

Lucy raises her eyebrows in surprise, "Yes, do you know anything about it?"

"Show me," he says anxiously as he brings his face closer to the communication lacrima.

Lucy brings Virgo and the lacrima to where the compartment is and shows Bickslow the inside. As the picture of the interior of the doll's head shows up in the lacrima, Lucy can hear Bickslow gasp and almost squeal in joy, "Holy shit! You guys found a soul controlled medium!"

Virgo refocuses the communication lacrima on Lucy, "What's a soul controlled medium?"

Evergreen and Freed have to calm Bickslow down from his excitement before he can answer Lucy's question. "A soul controlled medium is any medium that can contain a soul without a seith mage having to constantly control the soul inside. You see, my babies have extremely limited capacity to control their own doll. If I need them to do something, I have to order them to do it most of the time. But that doll is different. If I, or some other seith mage, were to put a soul inside of that lacrima in her head, the doll will gain a 'half-consciousness'. Special seals in the head extend throughout her body and allow the soul to be able to control the medium under its own influence. She could make decisions without the seith mage having to tell her what to do and she would act predominately like the soul that was put in her. The soul will stay there until the seith mage takes it out. You guys have no idea how rare those things are. I've only seen one other medium in my life."

"So she would have her own free will then?" Lucy asks in amazement. Even Laxus was amazed, though he didn't show it.

"Yes and no. She would only be able to make simple choices. You know, like how to fold laundry, have simple conversations, and clean the dishes. Things like playing a board game, fighting, and writing a paper require too much thought so she can't do a lot things. No medium can ever come close to replacing a human being."

Lucy looks back at the mannequin, "And you're sure it's real?"

"Positive. Where did you guys find it? I want to buy it-" Bickslow starts.

"Sorry Bickslow, it's already being sold." Laxus interjects into the conversation.

"Awww…damn." Bickslow becomes immensely depressed.

"Thanks Bickslow for all the help. We'll be goi-" Laxus gets cut off by Freed.

"Wait Laxus! Why didn't you tell us when you got back three days ago? And why are you on a job with Lucy?" Freed begged the man for answers.

Laxus frowns at his team's leader, "That's none of your business but if you must know, I was busy with Lucy and she wanted me to go with her."

Freed pales at Laxus' words and before he can form any response Laxus shuts the communication line off and returns the lacrima to his bag.

"Hey, you offered to come with me!" Lucy sneers at the dragon slayer.

Laxus smirks down at her, "That doesn't mean that you didn't want me to come with you."

Lucy puffs out her cheeks and is about to retaliate when a light laugh pulls Lucy and Laxus' attention to their hostess. Ms. Kitty gives a mischievous smile, "With attitudes like that, you two must have the best angry sex."

Laxus tenses up at Ms. Kitty's words and a blush spreads over his cheeks. Lacy gapes at the woman with wide eyes as her face turns completely red. Snapping their heads away from each other, Lucy rapidly fans her face with her hand in a pathetic attempt to cool down her skin and Laxus awkwardly coughs to clear out the imaginary thing that's caught in his throat.

Meanwhile, Freed hasn't moved a muscle since Laxus hung up on him. Laxus' words run through his mind in a loop, _I was busy with Lucy and she wanted me to go with her._ He knew it! Lucy has done something to Laxus! He swears on Laxus' honor and everything else that is holy that he will get down to the bottom of this mystery!

Back in the basement of "Ms. Kitty's Playtime", Lucy is only able to send Virgo away after promising the spirit that they can return at a later date so Virgo can browse at her leisure. Laxus and Lucy tell Ms. Kitty that their client will buy the doll. Ms. Kitty smiles with joy and walks to retrieve the second item that she has for sell. She comes back with a tied up cloth bag.

Untying and reaching into the bag she pulls out an ordinary looking pair of handcuffs. "Voilà!" she exclaims dramatically.

"Handcuffs?" Laxus asks blandly.

Ms. Kitty gives him a sexy pout, "Not just any handcuffs. These are my magic-restraining handcuffs!"

"Like the handcuffs used for prisoners? That's not that special." Lucy says confused at what the big deal is.

"Oh no, no, no. These aren't used for prisoners; they're used for far more…pleasurable experiences. They only restrict the use of magic in a mage's hands and arms so the mage can still use magic in the other parts of their body," Ms. Kitty purrs. "Here, let me show you."

Ms. Kitty saunters up to Lucy and lifts Lucy's right wrist. She wraps one end the metal device around Lucy's dainty wrist and snaps the two ends together. "They fit all wrist sizes…," Ms. Kitty grabs Laxus' left wrist, "…work on all types of magic…," she wraps the other end of the handcuffs around his thicker wrist, "…and are virtually indestructible," she finishes as she snaps his ends shut. Ms. Kitty stands back to admire her work, "Perfect."

Everything happened so fast that the two mages didn't realize what Ms. Kitty did to them until it was too late. She had handcuffed them to one another. Both Lucy and Laxus stare dumbly at their attachment before they explode.

"What the hell?! Why did you latch us together?!" Laxus steams at the red haired woman.

"How are we supposed to get out of these?!" Lucy yells.

"Calm down, calm down. I have a key that will let you out. The reason I put you two together is to show you the purpose of the handcuffs. Go on; try to use your magic in your locked hands." Ms. Kitty says with way too much confidence.

Laxus and Lucy let a small growl escape their throats but reluctantly obey their hostess' order. Lucy tries calling out Virgo using her right hand but nothing happens. She switches hands and tries calling Virgo out again. Virgo pops up like normal and asks for punishment. Dismissing the spirit, Lucy lets Laxus take his turn. Laxus tries to summon some lightning in both of his hands but only his right hand is engulfed in his magic.

"See, they work perfectly." Ms. Kitty continues in a sultry, velvety voice, "Now I want you two to imagine being in the bedroom. You've strip each other of every piece of clothing and all of your touching, caressing, and kissing, is amplified because of your trapped closeness. You begin to make love, never able to go out of reach of the other. To intensify your love making, Laxus sends some of his magic down to his-"

"Stop! Stop! No more! They work! They work! Now please, just take the handcuffs off!" Lucy interjects hastily with a completely red face. A part of her wants Ms. Kitty to finish the story but the more dominate part of her is immensely embarrassed at what Ms. Kitty has already said and doesn't want to hear any more.

Laxus felt the temperature go up thirty degrees during the story and now he feels like he needs a cold shower. He has an feeling that his next few dreams are going to feature these handcuffs, his magic, and Lucy.

Ms. Kitty bats her hands at the two blondes, "Alright, alright, I'll play nice."

She takes a small metal key out of the bag that held the handcuffs. Laxus and Lucy hold out their restrained wrists and Ms. Kitty gently glides the key into the key slot. She turns the key until it stops abruptly halfway. Ms. Kitty tries to turn it further but the key won't budge.

"Is everything alright?" Lucy asks in a worried tone as she watches the woman in leather struggle.

"Yeah, it's just a little stuck-" Ms. Kitty says as she applies a little more force.

SNAP!

With the intense snapping sound all three occupants of the basement openly gawk with wide eyes at Ms. Kitty's hand. Inside of her palm sits the broken key.

"Oh dear," Ms. Kitty whispers.

"No, no, no, no, no," Lucy says breathlessly.

"Don't tell me that we're…" Laxus can't bring himself to finish his sentence.

Ms. Kitty puts a hand on her hip, "You're stuck together until I get a new key."

"Don't you have an extra one?!" Lucy yells as her eyes widen further.

"No, that was the only one. I'll have to have another one made," Ms. Kitty replies.

"How long will that take?!" Laxus demands.

"Three days."

Horror spreads over Lucy's and Laxus' faces. "WHAT?!" they yell together.

"I'm sorry but that's the earliest that I can get a replacement made."

"Are you sure there's nothing else you can do?!" Lucy gestures with her hands and brings Laxus' left hand up with her right.

"Yes, I'm sorry sweetheart."

Laxus and Lucy are rendered speechless. They're handcuffed together for the next three days. Several long minutes pass before both of the mages discuss what they should do. Do they continue with the job or do they forgo it? After a long deliberation Lucy and Laxus decide to continue with the job. Lucy reasons that they're going to be together anyway so they might as well finish it. That and she really, really needs the reward money.

With their minds made up, Ms. Kitty escorts them to the front door. She tells them to be back in in three days and that she should have the key ready for them. The two blondes walk down the steps to plan their next move.

"Where's our next stop?" Laxus asks.

Lucy pulls out the schedule, "A town called Crystal Oak in the south. Our appointment there isn't until tomorrow at 8:00 a.m. but I'm ready to leave if you are."

"The sooner we leave this wretched town, the better," Laxus says adamantly.

"Can't argue with you there," Lucy lightly chuckles.

Lucy steps close to Laxus and wraps her free arm around his waist. Laxus returns her hug and starts to spread his lightning over his body just like the other times. He feels the energy move steadily over his legs, abdomen, and right arm…but not his left. Realization and the universe come crashing down on him as his magic drains from around him.

"What's wrong?" Lucy asks looking up at the tall man.

"We can't teleport. I can't form any of my lightning over our connected arms so if I do use my magic then my magic would only work for most of our bodies. In other words, our arms would be severed from our bodies," Laxus says in dejection. No teleporting means riding the trains.

Lucy deadpans, "Are you serious?"

"When is our next train?" Laxus mumbles.

Lucy sighs before stepping away from Laxus' body to look at the schedule. "The train from Springview to Crystal Oak leaves at 7:00 p.m. and it's a little past 4 right now. Since we have three hours before the train leaves do you want to get something to eat? All of that walking earlier has made me hungry," Lucy tries to hold on to the hope of a full stomach.

Laxus' stomach growls at the mention of food, "Yeah, let's go."

They leave the way they came to find a restaurant in town. Neither one of the mages is ever further than a foot from the other. Lucy lightly blushes when their hands brush against one another from time to time. Laxus is outwardly indifferent but his hand itches to feel her touch linger for a few seconds more. Luckily, no one seems to notice their predicament as they trek their way through town to find something quick to eat.


	9. Chapter 9

**Hiro Mashima owns Fairy Tail and all corresponding characters. I only own the extra characters and plot.**

They pass several restaurants but they either have a tremendous line out front, are closed, selling some kind of foul smelling foreign food, or is being rebuilt. After looking around for forty minutes, Lucy and Laxus comes to the fifth restaurant and see a line of people out front.

"Laxus let's just eat here. If we go anywhere else, there will still be a line of people," Lucy begs the man. They passed up one restaurant a while ago because Laxus didn't want to stand in line. What the man has against standing in lines she has no idea.

His hunger outweighs his impatience and Laxus agrees to Lucy's request. The two blondes go to stand at the back of the line that wraps around one side of the building. As they stand there in silence, both of their stomachs growl in hunger and they can only hope that the line will move quickly.

An hour and a half later, Lucy and Laxus are at the front of line. _So much for moving quickly_ , Lucy thinks sourly to herself. Their train leaves in forty minutes so they will have to rush through their dinner if they hope to make it. At this point, they don't care what they eat as long as they eat something.

The hostess is about to bring the two blondes to a table when a manager comes out of the kitchen and stops her. He whispers something in her ear that makes her cringe. She gives Lucy an apologetic look before stepping back and letting the manager take her place.

"May I have your attention please?" he calls out to the people in the line. "I'm sorry to inform you but I am afraid that we cannot serve you today. We have run out of food in the kitchen and will not be able to prepare any more dishes for the evening."

The line goes into an uproar with the exception of two particular blondes; Lucy and Laxus stare at the man dumbstruck. "What do you mean there's no more food?" Lucy whimpers out.

"Our inventory stock was miscalculated so we had less food than what was expected. I am so sorry for this inconvenience. If you sign your names on this sheet of paper, the restaurant will give you a free dinner the next time you dine here," the manager tries to compensate the upset people.

"You're telling us that we waited for an hour and a half just so you can turn us away?" Laxus says as he looks down at the man with a cold glare.

The manager shrinks back, "You will receive two free dinners for your patience and understanding. Just sign your name on the sheet."

Exhaling a large sigh, Laxus takes a pen and writes his and Lucy's name on the sheet of paper. He drags a depressed Lucy through the door and onto the street.

"What do you want to do?" he asks Lucy.

"Let's go to the train station. There's not enough time to go somewhere else so we will just have to wait until we get to Crystal Oak to find something to eat," Lucy tries not to sound dejected.

Laxus frowns deeply at her answer but doesn't argue. He turns to walk to the train station and winds up yanking Lucy along because of the handcuffs. The train station was one of the few things they passed when they were walking around town earlier so they know where it's located. It is a fair distance away and they reach the ticket booth with fifteen minutes to spare before their train leaves.

"Hello! How may I help you today?" the ticket man asks in a cheery voice. Normally, Lucy would have found his demeanor uplifting but after everything they have gone through today she kinda wants to punch him in the nose.

"We have two tickets reserved under the name of Tweed to Crystal Oak," Lucy says.

The man behind the counter looks through a box with the reserved tickets and pulls out two paper slips. "I'm sorry but that train has already left. Would you like me to change the ticket times for the next train?"

"What do you mean our train has already left? It's 6:45 and the train leaves at 7:00," Lucy asks tiredly.

The ticket man maintains his cheery voice, "I'm sorry ma'am but we had an emergency on the train and it had to depart earlier than what was previously anticipated. You've missed it by ten minutes. If you wish I can change your tickets to the later train for no charge."

Laxus scowls at the man, "And when does that train leave?" Laxus doesn't know it but he shares Lucy's urge to punch the man behind the counter in the face.

"8:00 p.m. Shall I change the tickets?" the ticket man says not noticing either one of the blonde's irritation.

Lucy stares at him in silence before she plops her down on the counter and mumbles through the wood, "Sure, why not?"

The man prints out new tickets for the two mages. "Here you go. Have a nice trip and a nice night," he says with a big smile.

Laxus grunts at the ticket man as he grabs the tickets and him and Lucy walk away from booth. They both sit down on a bench to wait for the train. Since they only have an hour, there is not enough time to go find something to eat and then come back. Both mages know it and they came to their silent agreement once they sit down.

"Hey, I'm going to call Virgo out and get our bags. I don't want to keep bothering her and I want to conserve my magic," Lucy says as stands up to grab Virgo's key and moves her key pouch to her left hip.

Laxus gives a lazy nod at the celestial mage's plan. Lucy calls Virgo out and takes their bags from the spirit. When Virgo notices the handcuffs she gets stars in her eyes and asks Lucy if she would bind her up next. Lucy sweatdrops at her spirit's eagerness and tells Virgo that she will do no such thing. After Virgo leaves, Lucy plops down to next to Laxus and lays her head against the back of the bench.

A chuckle comes from Laxus, "Are all of your spirits kinky?"

Lucy lazily rolls her head to look at dragon slayer and gives him a soft smile, "No, just a few of them. The others are either perverted or totally serious."

"Which ones?" Laxus asks genuinely curious. Despite being in the same guild as her, Laxus never felt like he had the chance to get to know Lucy's magic.

The next hour passes by smoothly for the two blondes as Lucy enthusiastically told Laxus everything about her spirits personalities, magic, and how she acquired each key. Seeing Lucy so excited reminds Laxus of how she reacted to his music. If it were possible, he would always have her be this happy. When Lucy is finishing with her story of how she acquired Virgo's key, Laxus hears the last whistle to board their train.

They hurry past the train cars and see each one filled with people. Finally, they run onto one of the last cars and find an empty booth across from two little old ladies. Thinking that their luck might be turning around, they look around for a place to store their luggage. But every spot has been filled by excess bags from the other passengers.

A stewardess from the next car sees Lucy and Laxus looking for a place for their luggage. "Excuse me," she looks between Lucy and Laxus. "I'm sorry but there is no more room for your luggage in this car. However, there is space in the next car and I will need to place your belongings there for the trip."

"Are you su-" Lucy starts but the train jerks forward before steadily starting to move. The instant the train moves an inch, Laxus develops a green haze around his cheeks and he starts to wobble. He would have fallen over in the middle of the pathway, and taken Lucy with him, if he wasn't already grasping onto the railing above the seats so hard that the metal was starting to dent. Lucy rushes under Laxus and tries to support some of his weight. "Go ahead, take 'em," Lucy says over her shoulder to the stewardess as she guides Laxus to their seat. The stewardess silently obeys and takes their bags to the next car.

Lucy manages to get Laxus seated next to the window as she notices that is something off about him. "Laxus are you okay? You look worse than usual," she asks in a concerned tone.

"Head…pho…nes…" he barely chokes out. Lucy looks through his coat pocket with one hand and pulls out the magical device. She sets it on a more easy going song and places the pieces on his ears. Although, it doesn't look like the music helps him because Laxus gags when the train hits a bump on the track.

Lucy is at a loss at how to help the dragon slayer when she hears one of the elderly woman speak up. "Is he alright?"

Lucy looks across to the woman, "No, he gets terrible motion sickness." She knows that Laxus will probably kill her if he knew she was telling strangers about his "problem" but since she is handcuffed to him at the moment she can't find a reason to care.

"I understand; my grandson is the exact same way. You should let him lie on your lap and pet his head, it works every time," she says as she nods her head slowly.

Lucy was about to disagree when she hears Laxus moan and groan in agony. Her heart aches and clenches for the dragon slayer and drives her to do anything to help him. _Oh, what the hell?_

After some internal coordination planning, Lucy lays Laxus on his side so his back is facing the two older women and his face is nestled into Lucy's stomach. Their secured wrists lay in front of his chest while Lucy uses her free hand to calmly and gently stroke Laxus' head.

Short spiky tips of blonde hair jut out over her lap as she runs her fingers through his hair. Lucy is surprised when she feels how soft his hair is despite its rough appearance. The softness intrigues her and she gets lost in the feeling as she starts to massage his scalp. At first she only touches the top of his head before moving over to the side. Then Lucy's thumb moves outside of Laxus' hairline and touches the skin under Laxus' ear. Like his hair, the softness of his skin surprises her. Gently circling from top to bottom, she applies a little more pressure to the skin before sliding the lob between her forefinger and thumb and following the contours of the outer shell of his ear. Going back along the same path, she drags her fingers down his ear to the skin under his ear and strokes her fingertips up to his hair.

Laxus is in a thick haze of sickness as he feels himself moving so that he was lying down on his side. His head rests on something soft and cushiony but his mind can't process what it is before a strong scent of strawberries, vanilla, and lilies overflow his nostrils. The powerful combination clears some of the fog from his mind and greatly calms his stomach. It's then that he realizes that he is lying on Lucy's lap. He contemplates that he should move his head from her lap until the feeling of fingertips touching his forehead then running through his hair and over his skin tosses that idea out the window. Lucy gently caressing his head creates the most relaxing sensation he has ever felt. The tension leaves his muscles as he relaxes further into her touch. When she starts to gently tug on his ear, he has to force himself not to moan. His body starts to react to her fondling until the train hits a bump and he instantly becomes sick again.

Lucy is brought out of her trance when she feels Laxus gag. She looks down at him to see him return back to his sickly green color that he had when he first lay down. Lucy's face crinkles in slight disgust, _I'm glad we didn't eat anything earlier; otherwise I might have more than chocolate milk on me right now_. Continuing with her rubbing and massaging, Laxus soon loses the green color in his cheeks. Only for them to hit a curve and the sickness comes back full force. Lucy looks down at the man in pity.

"See, what did I tell you? Works every time," the older woman says with a smile.

Lucy looks up with a sideways smile and is about to thank the woman for the helpful advice when she is interrupted by the other elderly woman. "Oh, you just got lucky is all; it doesn't work every time," the other woman retorts.

"You're just jealous that is doesn't work for your granddaughter," the first woman says with her nose in the air.

"She has a sinus condition; you can't expect you're simple method to work on someone who has a sinus condition," the second woman says smartly. Lucy tries to catch the attention of the two elderly women but neither pay Lucy any mind.

"It's always the sinus condition with you. Why can't you just admit that she just gets motion sick like everyone else?" scoffs the first woman.

"My granddaughter is not like everyone else, unlike your grandson," the second woman insults the first.

"And what is that supposed to mean?!" the first woman sounds offended.

Lucy tries to grab their attention long enough to ask them to lower their voices but neither see or hear her and continue to argue. The train ride lasts for seven hours and Lucy would like to get some sleep but with the ladies in front of her arguing that will be next to impossible. After every bump or curve she can feel Laxus choke and then relax as she unconsciously continues her ministrations. Lucy sighs before making herself as comfortable as possible with Laxus on her lap to watch the two women banter back and forth. What else can she do?

* * *

The train whistle blows as the train pulls into Crystal Oak. People grab their bags and file out the narrow doors and into the station. The two elderly women wave goodbye to Lucy as they pass to exit the train car. Lucy gives them a smile but as soon as they walk away her smile disappears and her head falls back against the headrest in relief. She sends up a small thank you to whatever gods are listening to her at the moment.

Seven hours. Seven hours of nonstop squabbling between two little old ladies. They argued about everything. And she means everything. Some things they even argued about twice. At one point, Lucy wished that she could trade places with Laxus. Motion sickness, sinus infections, grandchildren, knitting, schoolwork, dentures, some old war, how a guy got named skip, clothes, tic-tac-toe, their husbands, how sodium-less salt works, their afternoon, and sinus infections again are all the things they talked about…within the first two hours. None of the other hours were any better. Lucy swears up and down that once she is their age, she will never open her mouth.

Lucy lifts her head when she feels Laxus move against her. During the entire trip he was constantly gagging and relaxing. Every so often he would try to move, only find out that whatever position he wanted was far worse than lying down on his side. Lucy helps Laxus maneuver into a shaky upright position and watches as the blonde dragon slayer takes a lot of deep breaths.

That was the worst and best train ride he has ever been on. It was the worst because that was the worst case of motion sickness he has ever had. On the other hand, it was the best because he had Lucy soothing him. He doesn't know what would happen if she ever touches him like that when he is not sick. By the time Laxus is able to stand, all of the other passengers have left the train and the attendants are doing their last run through.

They see the attendant who took their bags at the beginning of the trip. "Excuse me," Lucy calls out.

The attendant walks up to the two mages, "Yes?"

"We need our bags," Lucy gestures to herself and Laxus.

"Oh yes! They're in the next car, please follow me," the attendant walks ahead of Lucy and Laxus. She pulls open the door to the next car and walks up to an empty luggage bin. "Oh no…" she gasps.

"What's the matter?" Laxus says in what sounds like a neutral voice but can Lucy can hear the hints of annoyance.

"Your bags are gone. I put them right here," the stewardess says in dismay.

Lucy's mouth drops and she stands in stunned silence. "What do you mean they're gone?" Laxus growls as the small woman. It's pretty easy to tell that he is in no mood for this shit.

The stewardess steps back in fright. "I put your bags in this compartment and now they're no longer here."

"You let our bags get stolen?!" Laxus raises his voice at the small woman. Lightning starts to spark around his body as his temper rises.

The woman pulls her arms in front of her body and steps away from the blonde male with fear in her eyes. "I-I do-don't know. May-maybe one o-of the ot-other at-attendants took the bags."

Laxus was about to yell again but stops when a delicate hand firmly wraps around his wrist. He looks down at Lucy surprised only to see her giving him a deeply set scowl and a glare.

"Apologize," Lucy demands in a cold voice. Laxus' eyes widen at the celestial mage and his magic dies down as he realizes what she's talking about. He scared an innocent person. The attendant was just doing her job and she couldn't have known that their bags would be taken. Lucy knew that but he let his temper get the best of him. Guilt spreads across his face and his shoulders sag when he turns to look at the frightened stewardess.

"I'm sorry. I didn't mean…you couldn't have…I wasn't…it-it's just been a long day," Laxus says as he looks away in shame.

The stewardess drops her arms and gives him a weak smile, "It's okay, I understand."

Lucy lets go of Laxus' wrist before she speaks up, "You said that another attendant might have taken our bags. Where would they take them?"

"They would take them to the lost and found. It's at the other end of the station."

"Thank you for all of your help...what's your name?" Lucy asks she scrunches her eyebrows together in thought.

"Danielle," the attendant says.

"Thank you for all of your help Danielle," Lucy says as she gives the attendant a smile. Danielle gives an appreciative smile and a quick nod. Lucy turns around and slightly tugs on the handcuffs to signal Laxus to follow. They get off the train and begin to walk to the lost and found. Due to it being so late, the station is practically empty with the exception of a few stragglers.

"What were you thinking?! You could have hurt her!" Lucy hisses at the blonde man. She can't believe that Laxus would almost threaten an innocent person. And a non-magical person to boot. He is supposed to be the logical, level headed, calm, indifferent type; not the threatening, impulsive, I'll-kill-you-at-the-drop-of-a-hat type. That's what Erza, Gray, and Natsu are for.

"I know…I'm sorry," Laxus whispers so quietly that Lucy almost missed it. She is about to rip him a new one when she looks up at him and sees him looking at the floor. His eyes convey extreme guilt and sadness and her face falls as she can't bring herself to chastise him. Unlike her teammates, Laxus knows when he did something wrong and she doesn't want to rub salt into his wound.

She stops to face the tall man and looks up at him with a smile and soft eyes. "It's alright. I know you didn't really want to hurt her and I know you're sorry too. We're both really tired and it has been a long day for both of us." Laxus looks away from Lucy but she can see the guilt fade a little from his face. Lucy leans to the side to try to look him in the face. "Since we know her name let's send her a small gift as an official apology once we're done with the job. I'm sure she'll like that," Lucy tries to make him feel better. Even though he did something wrong, she can't stand to see a friend hurt over something.

Laxus looks back at Lucy in total surprise before his face softens into a small smile and gives her a nod. Lucy's capacity for forgiveness, compassion, and understanding is something to be admired.

Seeing the Laxus feel better makes Lucy beam up at the man. "Alright, let's go see if they have our bags. Then we can go and get some sleep at the inn."

"Sounds like a plan," Laxus agrees with a hint of happiness.

* * *

Two tired looking, handcuffed, and bagless blonde mages walk to an inn at the end of a street. "Well it was a long shot," the smaller of the two huffs out.

They went to the lost and found to look for their, hopefully, lost luggage. After telling the man behind the counter what their bags look like, he told them that no bags matching their descriptions have been received. Lucy gave the man the address of the Fairy Tail guild so he can send their bags there if he does find them.

"It doesn't matter. They've probably been stolen anyway." Laxus makes no attempt to sound optimistic.

"Let's just go get some sleep," an exhausted Lucy says as her and Laxus walk into the inn. All the pair wants right now is to get at least a few hours of shut eye. "Excuse me. We have a room reserved under the name of Tweed," Lucy says when they approach the front desk worker.

The front desk worker looks through her reserved room papers before pulling one out and looking up with a smile, "I'm sorry but this reservation has been cancelled.

Lucy and Laxus blink at the woman, "What?"

"Our reservations are only valid until 3:00 a.m. and it's almost 4:00 a.m."

Lucy and Laxus blink at the woman a second time, "Huh?"

"I'm sorry but we had to cancel your reservation and put the room up for availability to the public."

"You gave our room away?!" Lucy freaks out.

"I'm sorry but it's company policy," The front desk lady says in an eerily calm voice that grates on Lucy's nerves.

Laxus can feel his temper start to rise again. "Look, forget the reservation. Just give us a room with two beds."

"I'm afraid we're all booked up."

"What?! First you tell us that you give our reservation away now you tell us that you don't have a room?!" Lucy complains in a worn out, irritated voice.

"Yes ma'am. I'm terribly sorry; it's the worst of luck."

Both blondes glare at the woman behind the desk at the mention of any kind of luck. "Fine, we'll go somewhere else," Laxus says harshly and he turns to leave and pulls Lucy with him.

The front desk lady stops them short, "You won't find an available room in the town. The last person who came through here said they have already checked everywhere else."

Lucy and Laxus give the women a disbelieving look. Lucy's shoulders slump and her head hangs in total dejection. "What should we do?" Lucy mumbles almost incoherently.

Laxus addresses the front desk worker, "Is there any place to eat that's open?"

"There should be a twenty-four hour bar down the road."

"Might as well go get something to eat," Laxus says towards Lucy with a heavy sigh. Lucy reluctantly nods and the two blondes walk out the doors and head back down the street.

"This is unbelievable. How two people go through this much trouble in one day is beyond me," Lucy whines to herself as they walk toward the bar. "And don't say it's the dice." Laxus shakes his head. He doesn't want to admit that the dice might be real either.

They reach a little bar with an 'Open' sign in the window and they walk inside to see a typical pub style restaurant. A bar is directly in front of them and extends across the entire wall with the cashier near the door. Numerous bottles of alcohol line wood shelves behind the bar and a bartender is tending the few guests that sit on the barstools. Small round tables are situated around the other side of the room with each of the chairs being upside down on them. A man with a broom sweeps underneath and around each table leg.

Lucy and Laxus take a seat in the middle of the bar with Lucy on the left side of Laxus. The bartender quickly walks over to hand them some menus but Laxus waves his hand at the man. "We'll have one of everything on the menu and I'll have a beer. Make it quick," he's hungry and he doesn't want to wait. The bartender gives Laxus a skeptical look before looking over at Lucy. Lucy gives him a smile and nods her head toward the kitchen. The bartender doesn't question the two blondes and goes to tell the cook the order.

Lucy lays her arms and head on the countertop and rests her eyes until she hears a mug clink on the wood. She opens her eyes to see Laxus greedily guzzling his beer before he places the empty mug down and ordering a refill. A gentle smile spreads across her lips as she watches him relax.

His face always holds such strength and power but she has always preferred the look he has when he's calm. Not that his regular look is bad or anything. It's just that when he's calm, he seems less cold, guarded, and distant. It's a very subtle change but it makes a world of a difference.

"You really like looking at my face, don't ya?" Laxus asks with a small smirk as he turns toward Lucy.

She never stops smiling at him as she raises her head to rest on her palm. "You just seem happy."

Surprise crosses Laxus face as leans away slightly from the celestial mage before he turns back toward his beer. Her sudden and pronounced observation of him makes him feel very bashful. "Do I?" he whispers.

"Yeah, you do," Lucy answers as softly as he asked his question. Laxus tightens his grip on his beer and hunches his shoulders a little to hide his face from Lucy. Noticing his change in demeanor, Lucy changes the subject, "So what did you think of the doll?"

The two blonde mages talk about how their day went while they wait for their food to cook. When their food does come out, they waste no time in chowing down. Lucy is full after her small portion and she watches Laxus finish everything else off. They may be tired but at least they're not hungry. The bartender takes the last empty plate away from Lucy and Laxus before bringing the bill to the table.

Laxus reaches inside of his coat pocket only to stop mid-action. He retracts his hand and runs it down his face. "Fucking fuck," he hisses in dismay through the flesh of his palm.

Slightly taken aback by his select choice in words, Lucy looks up surprised at the blonde man. "What's wrong?"

He heaves a heavy sigh as he looks down at the table, "I don't have my wallet. I put it in my bag."

Lucy's face screws up in confusion, "Why would you put your wallet in your bag?"

"To prevent it from being stolen during long train rides. It's a lot easier for someone to steal something from your coat than your bag. Everyone notices when someone stands up to get something from their bag but no one notices when someone gets pickpocketed."

"Oh, that makes sense. Well it's alright; I have enough money to pay for both of us," Lucy chuckles.

"Thanks Lucy, I owe you one."

Lucy pulls out her wallet, "Don't worry about it. You paid for my dinner a couple of times so it's the lea-"

BAM! The door flies open and three men in black ski masks come barging into the bar. They swing wooden bats around above their heads with one hand while the other holds black cloth bags and scream, "FREEZE! THIS IS A HOLDUP!

Lucy and Laxus look towards the door to see the three men rushing in two different directions. The first one steps up to the cashier and starts demanding all the money in his bag while the second and third one rushes over to the patrons. The second one heads towards the other customers and starts threatening them with his bat if the customers don't empty their pockets. The patrons start pulling out their belongings and throwing them into the second's bag. The third man has the unfortunate luck of hassling Laxus and Lucy.

"Everything out of your pockets! Now!" the third one yells in the blonde's faces. Lucy stares at him in utter disbelief and shock. _Now we're getting mugged?!_

"Piss off," Laxus says as he glares toward the masked man.

Even with the mask on, the robber is clearly startled by Laxus' outright refusal to hand over his belongings. "WHAT DID YOU SAY?!" he yells in anger as he gets in Laxus' face. Lucy sweatdrops at the thief. She doesn't know if the guy is incredibly brave or just stupid, although she leans more towards the latter of the two. What she does know is that no one, and she means no one, should be dumb or reckless enough to try and intimidate the Thunder God if they want to live.

Laxus doesn't move an inch and continues to glare at the thief. "I said piss off," Laxus says slowly.

"LISTEN HERE YOU FUCKING MOTHERFUCKER! I SAID GIVE ME ALL OF YOUR FUCKING MONEY!" the man reaches between the two blondes and grabs Lucy's wallet with his last word.

"Hey!" Lucy yelps but before she can try and grab it back Laxus punches the man in the chest. The robber goes flying into the opposite wall with a crash and creates a crater in the wood. The man flops onto a table before the table tips over and he tumbles onto the floor. Lucy's wallet rolls out of his hand and onto the floor. The other two robbers hear the commotion and run over to their friend.

Laxus stands up and holds up his left hand to tell Lucy to stay seated. Lucy does as she's told. She hears a door open to the side of her and sees a man in a greasy stained tank top walk out. He stops dead when he sees two men in ski masks hunched over another man in a ski mask on the floor.

One of the two standing robbers grabs Lucy's wallet from off of the ground and puts it in their bag with the rest of the stolen money. "You're gonna pay for that you son of a bitch!" the other robber yells as he charges at Laxus with his bat. The man swings his bat at Laxus' face but Laxus grabs and stops the bat with one hand with ease. Laxus then yanks the bat out of the thief's hands and hits the guy in the side with the bat. Lucy hears the sound of bones cracking before she sees Laxus shoving the robber back with the other two thieves. The second man trips over his feet and rolls over to moan and hold his side. Lucy has little doubt that Laxus has at least cracked a few of the guy's ribs. Laxus throws the bat to the side and resumes his cold glare and confident stance.

"Gyaaaa!" the last robber yells as he runs like a manic at Laxus. Lucy shakes her head at the stupid man. Laxus leans back to dodge the incoming bat swing then swings his left fist to uppercut the robber in the jaw. He goes flying in another table to land next to his friends. He groans as he tries to situate himself upright.

Laxus looks down at the three moaning and groaning in pain. As a final measure, Laxus summons some lightning from the clouds and sends three lightning bolts to strike the three men. Comical screams escape their mouths as their bodies twitch and stir. The lightning stops and all three men are left charred, blackened, and unconscious on the ground.

Lucy stares at the robbers in exaggeration, "Not. A. Chance."

Laxus smirks in her direction and when she meets his eyes, her lips slide upwards and she giggles. Satisfaction rolls through Laxus at Lucy's positive reaction to his squabble.

"FIRE! FIRE!" one of the customers yell. Laxus and Lucy look over to see that the bags holding the money have set on fire. Their expressions turn to shock and surprise as they realize what happened. Laxus' lightning ignited the material of the cloth bags.

The flames spread quickly and engulf the whole bags. Lucy starts to freak out as the bartender rushes over with pitchers of water. The water puts out the fire and all that is left is smoldered ashes, half burnt and wet money and valuables, and a blackened floor.

Every customer's face drops at the loss of their belongings. Lucy slumps her shoulders in complete dejection. "My money…" she mumbles.

"Hey you! You're paying for all of this!" All of the occupants of the bar look at the man in the greasy tank top.

"And who are you?" Laxus glares with a frown at the man.

"I'm the owner you dipshit! Now someone needs to pay for these damages and the loss of my money," the owner points the broken tables, wall, and burnt bags.

"Make them pay for it," Laxus nods his head towards the robbers.

"They're going to jail. Now how do expect them to pay for something from jail? That's right, they can't," the owner says with his nose in the air. "Since you broke everything and burnt my money, you should pay for it."

Laxus' eyes narrow at the man and his shoulders tense in anger. He just saved this guy's bar from being robbed and this is how he gets repaid? Lucy sees Laxus' rising anger and steps into the conversation, "We're sorry but he didn't mean to destroy anything. He was just trying to save your bar." Laxus relaxes slightly at Lucy's intervention. He knows he would just wind up making the situation worse if he had to do the talking.

"I don't care. I want my compensation," the owner says smugly.

Lucy tries not to let her annoyance show. "Fine, we'll pay for the damages. Take note of everything that was damaged and send a bill to Fairy Tail."

"Send a bill to Fairy Tail? There is no way in hell I am doing that," the owner scoffs.

"And why not?" Lucy asks with a tilt of her head.

"The last time I sent a bill to Fairy Tail, I didn't get my money for three years! I expect my payment right now," the owner attempts to make himself seem bigger by puffing out his chest and crossing his arms.

Lucy frowns at the man and huffs out her nose, "Well we don't have any money because ours got destroyed in the fire too so we can't pay you right now."

"Tough shit little girl."

Lucy crosses her arms and irritation slips into her voice, "Then how do you expect us to pay for the damages if we have no money?"

The owner rubs his chin before he smirks, "You're going to work it off."

* * *

"I think the luck dice work," Lucy says in a frustrated voice.

"No shit," Laxus says in an equally irked tone.

Laxus and Lucy are washing dishes. Well, Lucy is washing the dishes while Laxus dries them. Every now and then, they would stop to carry the clean dishes back to other side of the room and grab more dirty dishes.

Both mages were severely against the idea of working for the rat of an owner but they had no other choice. They were brought to the back of the restaurant and into a long kitchen where they froze in shock. Next to door is the sink where they would be spending their time. Along the wall are two big stovetops, fryers, counters, and a refrigerator. The floor has various wet spots from leaks and spills and a drain in the corner of the room. On the far end of the room, there is a HUGE stack of dishes piled high to the ceiling and covers the entire end of the room. Food was crusted over the plates, bowls, utensils, pots, and pans and they looked like they have been sitting there for days

The only other occupant of the room was the heavy set cook that moved all over the kitchen in preparing the dishes customers order. When the manager told him that he will have to share the kitchen…let's just say he had some few choice words to say about the matter. The cook only agreed when the owner semi-threatened him but he refused to help the two poor blondes. The owner waved his hand toward the pile and then left the two mages to their work. Lucy and Laxus went to retrieve the first pile and quickly realized how much of a pain it would be to work around the uncooperative chef. The chef would bump into them, order them around, yell at them, and was constantly making new dishes for them to clean. He only shut up and left the room when Laxus threatened the man with his lightning.

Due to their handcuffs, Laxus and Lucy had to do _everything_ together. While one washed, the other dried. Both carried dishes. There couldn't take any breaks if they had any hope of making their appointment on time. At first they would tug each other's arms trying to gain more than six inches of room from the other but after an hour, the two fell into a synchronized rhythm. After working for three more hours, Lucy and Laxus finish washing the last plate.

By the end, both mages admit that the dice are real and that all of these incidents are not accidental. After all, in twenty-four hours they have fallen, had clothes ripped, gotten lost multiply times, stood in line, had things spilt on them, been embarrassed, gotten handcuffed together, been denied food, gotten sick, gotten annoyed by old ladies, lost their luggage, had their hotel room given away, gotten mugged, accidently damaged a restaurant, and washed dishes for four hours. And they still have another forty-eight hours left to go.

Lucy and Laxus grab the last stack of clean plates to move them to their designated spot on the other side of the room. Passing the oven, sharp clinking noises are heard near Lucy's feet. She looks down to see that her keys have dropped on the ground between her and Laxus' feet. _How did they..._ Lucy thinks to herself as she steps on a wet spot on the floor. Her foot slips underneath her and she starts to fall backward. The stack of plates sway and tilt along with Lucy's body and threaten to fall.

Laxus' lightning fast reflexes kick in when he first sees Lucy start to fall. While balancing his load, he pushes out his elbow into the middle of Lucy's back before she dropped to low. His sudden intervention of her descent allowed Lucy to regain her footing and her grip on her stack quickly.

Coming to a perfect standstill, Lucy lets out a sigh. "Thanks, that was a close one," Lucy says with a smile towards Laxus. She really owes him for all of this.

He nods his head. "Just be more caref-" Laxus starts as he takes a step forward and his boot hits Lucy's keys. The sudden force throws the keys across the floor into the corner where the drain sits. Everything turns to slow motion as they watch the keys drop off the side and into the drain.

Lucy's eyes go white and her mouth drop in shock while Laxus has exaggerated guilt all over his face. If it wasn't for the weight of the dishes they would have forgotten what they were doing.

"OH MY GOD! MY KEYS!" Lucy yells in complete panic. Laxus tilts his head away from the loud screech before his eardrum bursts. Lucy is about to run towards her beloved keys before Laxus reminds her that they need to put the dishes away first.

Lucy all but throws the dishes down when she reaches the countertop and yanks Laxus with her as she runs over to the drain. They kneel down next to the black hole and look for any key shaped forms. The drain is big enough for someone with a small hand to barely put their hand into it.

"I can't see anything," Lucy says distraught as she leans as close as she can without touching the floor.

Laxus sends lightning to a couple of his fingertips and holds them over the hole. The light shines down the hole and illuminates the mold, food, hair, and liquid covered walls before hitting shiny metal. The keys sit on a metal filter at the bottom of the drain.

Relief floods Lucy's system. "Oh thank god," Lucy says as she releases the huge breath that she didn't know she was holding. "How do we get them out?"

"Just reach down there and grab 'em," Laxus says nonchalantly.

Lucy looks at him in total disgust, "No! Don't you see all that gunk down there?!"

"Lucy, we don't have time for this. We have to be at our next appointment in a little less than an hour. Just reach down there and grab them so we can get going."

Looking back at the drain, Lucy's face crinkles with disgust. She gulps before slowly lying on the ground and reluctantly dipping her hand into the pipe. "Eww, eww, eww," Lucy chants like a mantra when she feels the pipe and its sickening walls tightly constrict her skin. She can feel every crumb, hair strand, and mold clump as she closes in on her precious keys. Finally reaching the bottom, Lucy is only able to barely grab her target after shoving her entire forearm into the hole.

Pulling her hand up and out of the hole, Lucy sees her beautiful keys and arm covered in molded food and hair. She gags a little in her throat as she turns her head away and gets up to wash herself down. Using almost a quarter of the bottle of dish soap, she scrubs her skin and keys squeaky clean.

As she goes to put her keys away, she discovers why the keys fell out in the first place. There is a hole at the bottom of her key pouch. _When did that get there?! I can't carry my keys around like this! What am I going to do?_ Lucy looks up at the ceiling and crosses her arms as she debates her choices. Laxus quietly watches the woman think.

Lucy heaves a heavy sigh before turning to Laxus with a nervous smile. "Hey Laxus," she says as she fidgets, "umm, I'm not really sure how to ask this but…can you handle all of the magic for the job?"

Laxus quirks an eyebrow at her, "Why?"

"Well my key pouch has a hole in it and I have nowhere to safely put my keys. Since I don't have anywhere to store my keys and we have horrible luck on our side, I was thinking that I send my keys to the celestial spirit world. I know they'll be safe there and if I don't have them then there can't be some accident where I will lose them. If I do send them away though I can't use any magic except for my fleuve d'étoiles so if there ever is a need to use other forms of magic, you have to do it. I want to be sure that you're okay with this plan before I send my keys away."

Laxus closes his eyes in thought for several minutes as he considers Lucy's proposal. Is there any other way? As far as he can tell there are only two options here. One, send the keys away so they can be safe and have him do the heavy lifting. Which he has no problem with. Or two, keep the keys and risk losing them and almost _all_ of her magic abilities with them. It's clear to him there is only one valid option here. Opening his eyes he nods his head toward the celestial mage.

Lucy beams up at Laxus and almost hugs him with gratefulness but stops herself before she ever made any motion to approach the lightning mage. She holds out Virgo's key and calls out the maid spirit. "Punishment Princess?" Virgo asks as she appears.

"No Virgo, no punishment. I need you to do a favor for me. I need you to keep my keys in the celestial spirit realm for a couple of days."

Virgo normally neutral face falters for a second at the odd request. "Why Princess? Have we displeased you?"

Lucy waves her hands in front of her body, "No, no, no! I just don't want to lose them."

Virgo gives a blank stare and a deep nod at her master's request. Lucy happily hands over her keys and says, "Thank you Virgo. I should be at my house in a couple days so if you can come by some time during the day, that would be great."

"Of course princess. Do you need anything else?"

"No Virgo, that's all. Thanks again for doing this."

"My pleasure Princess," Virgo says before she disappears into the spirit world leaving the two blondes alone.

"Alright let's go. We have an appointment to get to," Laxus says as he turns to walk out of the kitchen. Lucy quickly falls into step with him so she doesn't get pulled by her wall of muscles. The bartender gives each one of the blondes a free cup of coffee to give each one of them some energy. As they walk out of the restaurant the bright morning sun hits their eyes and wakes them up instantly. Going along the road they reach their next stop.


	10. Chapter 10

**Thank you to all of my fabulous reviews, followers, and favoriters! I love you guys so much. This chapter is a bit…weird, in my opinion. So I would greatly appreciate it if you guys tell me what you think of it. Thanks!**

 **Hiro Mashima owns Fairy Tail and all corresponding characters. I only own the extra characters and plot.**

A big eccentric mansion sits on a flat plain of green grass with a forest at its back. It's not as big as Mr. Tweed's mansion but it is still something to be admired…in a different way. The walls are painted a soft pink color with the roof tiles painted a bright yellow. Wacky, colorful, and weird inventions, doohickeys, and thingamabobs stick out of the house and ground in odd places.

Laxus and Lucy look at the place dumbly and double check the address. "Yep, this is the place. Is it just me or does this place look like it came out of a kid's drawing?" Lucy asks incredulously.

"That's a nice way to put it," Laxus doesn't find this situation amusing at all.

"Well our client's name is Mr. …" Lucy brings the paper close and scrunches her eyebrows as she attempts to reads off the name, "Tro-min-bind Mik-milden-didi-nin? Tor-mind-blin Mick-mil-dil-dil-ni? Tor-mo-din-end Micc-mildew- oh I give up. Whatever his name is has two artifacts to show us."

Laxus takes the paper with the client's name on it and frowns at the complicated words. He doesn't even try to say it before they walk up to the seller's front door. The knocker looks like a woodpecker and when used, it looks like it is tapping the front door. A maid answers the door and gestures for the two mages to enter.

If they thought the outside is kooky, the inside is freaking bizarre. Lopsided pictures hang on the walls, the furniture is turned upside down or inside out, busts with a myriad of emotions are displayed around the house, and every wall is painted a different color.

The maid brings them to a large room with a desk at the back and a red velvet couch in front of it. The couch has two small pillows on either end and is just big enough to comfortably fit both Laxus and Lucy. Along the walls are contemporary style paintings, folded tapestries, and tilted furniture. Behind the desk is a fireman's pole that extends from a hole in the ceiling to a platform on the ground.

They walk in front of the couch as they "admire" the room when they hear a man yell from the hole in the ceiling. "Coming down!" A man in a suit slides down the pole and onto the platform. Once he lands he straightens out his suit and walks around the desk and up to the two blondes with a wide smile and his hand held out.

The eccentric middle aged man has brown hair, a big smile, and big, honest, dual-colored eyes. His suit is something to behold. While it is finely pressed and a proper fitting to his average build, every section of it is a different color. The right sleeve is yellow, the left sleeve is blue, the front is pink, the back is white, the left leg is purple, and the right leg is brown.

"Hello! My name is Tormindbind Mickmildididindnin. How may I help you?"

Lucy and Laxus are speechless and they gape at the man in front of them. Lucy unconsciously outstretches her hand. Mick grabs it and shakes it with a vigor that tosses Lucy's whole arm up and down. He moves to shake Laxus' hand but the lightning slayer hasn't moved an inch.

"It's a pleasure to meet you Mr….Mick-min-dine-don-on," Lucy tries to say his name correctly.

"Mickmildididindnin," the seller says with a smile.

"Mikk-mil-dido-in-din," Lucy says slowly. She gives him a wry smile knowing that she said it wrong.

The seller laughs his head off, "It's alright my dear! Everyone gets my name wrong. You can just call me Mick. And none of that Mr. stuff, goodness knows I don't need to feel any older."

Lucy gives him a small smile, "It's a pleasure to meet you Mick. My name is Lucy and this is Laxus. Mr. Tweed sent us to look at your objects you have for sale."

"Is that today?! Goodness, I thought that was on Wednesday," Mick says with a half-hearted dazed expression.

"Yesterday?"

"Oh no, no, no, yesterday was Friday," Mick says with a smile.

Lucy tilts her head in confusion, "But tomorrow's Friday."

Mick looks at Lucy surprised, "Really? I could have sworn tomorrow is Thursday. I have an appointment you know."

"You mean our appointment?" Lucy asks slowly with extra emphasis on 'our' .

"Is that what you're here for?! Well then welcome to the estate!" Mick says with enthusiasm.

Lucy sweatdrops at the man, _I can't tell if he's kidding or not._ Lucy looks up to Laxus as if he will have all of her answers only to find him with a mixture of a confused, bewildered, and annoyed look all over his face.

"Come, come. Let's get right to it then," Mick gestures to the couch. Mick stands in front of his desk and both blondes take their seats on their respective sides; Lucy on the left and Laxus on the right. Mick eyes the handcuffs before looking up with a smile and calling in the maid to bring the first item. A few minutes later the maid returns with a small jewelry box. "Ah, thank you my dear," Mick says as he gently takes the box from the maid. She gives a curt nod before retreating from the room.

"This is my first item," Mick says as he opens the box to show a small ring. It has a singular, large, clear, circular gem in the center of a simple gold band. "This is what I call my Mood Ring," he says as he hands the box to Lucy.

"A mood ring? Like a ring that changes color depending on your mood?" Lucy asks almost hesitantly. If it is anything like the handcuffs, doll, or dice then there is something different about it.

"It's a toy," Laxus quips in.

Mick waves a finger in the air in exception, "But this is no ordinary mood ring! This one does the reverse. When the ring changes color, _it_ changes _your_ attitude."

Lucy and Laxus look surprised and amazed at what the older man just said. "You mean, this thing changes how a person feels just by changing color?" Lucy asks astonished.

"You're right on the money. Here let me show you how it works," Mick moves to take the box from Lucy and pulls the ring out. "Inside of the band are the settings. You can set it to any particular emotion you want or you can even do a randomizing option. It releases magic that feeds into system and changes your emotions. The emotions last for as long as you have the ring on your finger. Would you like to try my dear?" Mick has a childlike grin as he holds out his hand.

"What setting is it on?" Lucy asks.

"I put it on random. That way you can experience the whole range that the ring can produce!"

Lucy looks at ring hesitantly. She doesn't really want to have mood swings but she has to test it. After all, Laxus' fingers are too big for the ring to fit on any of them. Shaking her head, she steels herself and gives Mick her left hand. Mick gently holds her hand while he slips the ring onto Lucy' ring finger. Lucy holds up her hand to admire the ring on her finger before pulling her hand into her lap.

Laxus watches Mick interact with Lucy. It is a given from when Mick shows Lucy the ring that she is the one that is going to be putting it on. Alright, he's fine with that. It's part of the job. Then he watches Lucy agree to the older man and holds out her hand. That's when he starts to feel funny. Laxus watches as Mick takes ahold of her hand like it is the most delicate thing in the world and Laxus suddenly feels angry. Mick has no right to touch Lucy that way. What has he done to deserve that right? Nothing. No one should be allowed to touch her that way, especially if they have not earned it. He can't accept it. He won't accept it

Then there's the damn ring. Seeing that ring makes a hole of burning fire erupt and gnaw away at his chest and stomach. For every fraction of an inch that the object crosses her skin, the hole grows bigger and bigger until it feels like it almost consumes him when the ring sits at the base of Lucy's finger. Just looking at it makes the ache worsen and his hands itch. Every ounce of him wants to rip that offending piece of metal off of her skin and crush it in his palm. When she holds it up to admire it, the pain is almost too great to bear. But the hurt dulls when she puts her hand down and pays no more mind to it. He realizes that she doesn't really care about it and that she probably wants it off too.

Laxus takes a deep breath to calm himself down. _What's happening to me?_ Laxus thinks to himself. He doesn't know what exactly he's feeling or why he feels this way but he wants it to stop. All he knows is that the sooner this part of the job is over, the sooner she takes the ring off, and the sooner he will stop feeling this way. Laxus tears his eyes away from Lucy and opts to glare at Mick instead. _Just one hit, that's all it will take,_ the deeper, instinctual part of him growls. Laxus shoves his innate desire to harm the older man away and tries to focus on the task at hand. He keeps his face looking pointedly away from Lucy and the thing that brings him so much discomfort.

"Alright, when does this thing start?" Lucy says as she notices that the ring hasn't changed color after several minutes.

"It will take about ten minutes before it changes color then it will continuously change colors every five minutes after that. Let's make a game out of this shall we? You have to try to guess which emotion goes to which color!" Mick says in a giddy voice. Laxus scoffs at Mick's idea. He has never been good at knowing what he was feeling and now he is supposed to guess what another person is feeling? To hell with that.

"I'm not sur-" Lucy starts but then she sees the ring change from a clear to an orange color. Immediately, a shot of euphoria strikes her body and spreads from the top of her head to the tips of her toes. The elation, joy, and energy she feels is unbelievable. Lucy's body starts to act on its own accord and a wide smile spreads across her face as she looks at the two men in the room. "This is amazing! I have never felt this good in my life!" she says as she bounces on the couch. The only reason she isn't standing or dancing around the room is because of the handcuffs.

Laxus stares at Lucy surprised after her "transformation". She doesn't stop smiling so she seems incredibly happy; as if there is nothing wrong in the world. According to his past experience with the celestial mage, he should feel happy that she's happy…but he doesn't. He just can't bring himself to look past that this whole expression is brought on by a spell. It's fake and he doesn't do fake. If anything, he feels slightly hurt that an object can bring her as much joy as them talking about music.

"So what emotion is it?" Mick asks with a playful smile.

Lucy laughs and giggles at the man's silly question as she throws up her arms, and by extension Laxus' left hand, into the air, "Happiness!"

"Well done, well done!" Mick cheers Lucy's successful answer.

"Alright! What's next? I'm ready!" Lucy says in a lively voice.

The trio doesn't have to wait long before the ring changes to a dark green color. Lucy's demeanor instantly changes to a much more brooding one. She leans back into the sofa as she looks around the room in disgust and contempt. To Laxus, she looks like she just ate a lemon.

A mischievous glint shines in Mick's eyes. "What do you think of my belongings Lucy?"

Lucy rolls her eyes around the room and purses her lips together for a few minutes before she clicks her tongue in Mick's general direction. She didn't want to admit it but his stuff does look kinda nice. "I've seen better." Laxus raises his eyebrows at Lucy. The girl he's used to would never be this rude and he can't help but wonder what this emotion could possibly be.

"You know…this desk is made out of pure, hand-carved mahogany," Mick says as he runs his hand along the top of the desk. Lucy narrows her eyes at him and huffs out of her nose. Mick simply chuckles, "So can you guess what emotion goes with green?"

Lucy's sneer deepens as she looks away from him, "Jealousy?"

"Bingo!"

Before another word is uttered, Lucy's attitude morphs. Now she turns to look wide-eyed at everything and everyone. She pulls her feet onto the couch and hugs her knees to her chest as she starts to shake. Lucy hears a strange noise and starts looking around frantically. "What was that?!" she cries out.

Laxus is confused by the weird question. "What was what?" Laxus asks.

"That sound. Didn't you hear it? You must have heard it, you have really good ears," Lucy looks at Laxus with fear in her eyes.

"No, I didn't hear anyth-"

"There it is again!" Lucy dives under Laxus' arm, pushes her back against his side, pulls his arm over her shoulder and legs for protection from the mystery sound, and stuffs her arm in between her body and legs. She looks around the room in short, quick motions as she continues to shake.

Laxus is tremendously startled by his companion and his body tenses up when she first touches him. "Lucy, what the hell are you doing?" he demands in a shocked voice as Lucy maneuvers herself under his arm. He makes a mental note that the ring has turned a pale yellow tone.

Lucy presses his arm tighter against her body as she turns to look at him like a frightened child. "Everything is so scary. You'll protect me, won't you Laxus?" she whimpers.

Laxus' mouth opens and closes like a fish as he gawks at the overly scared woman. He has absolutely no idea what to do, where to start, or what to say. "Uh, sure. I'll always protect you," Laxus says in a very unsure voice. Lucy's trembling slightly lessens but he can still feel her shivering against his arm. A part of him is enthralled that she would come to him to protect her when she is obviously terrified out of her mind. The other part of him is concerned with how he can handle Lucy's fragile state. This stupid ring and it's damn emotions.

"I bet this one will be pretty easy. What emotion is it?" Mick says.

Lucy jumps at Mick's voice and presses herself further into Laxus' body. When Laxus notices that Lucy is in no shape to answer the stupid question he turns to look at the man and glares at him, "Scared."

"Good job! Yellow means Fearful."

"I think we shoul-" Laxus starts to suggest taking the ring off when he feels Lucy stop trembling. He looks down to see that the ring has turned white.

Lucy takes a deep breath before gently pushing Laxus' arm off of her body and sits up in her seat like normal. She has a small smile on her face and she looks serene. Laxus watches Lucy carefully and looks for any kind of indication of what she might be feeling. But right now she seems perfectly normal. "Lucy?" he asks hesitantly.

"Yes Laxus?" Lucy looks at him with the calmest eyes he has ever seen.

"Are you alright?" Laxus asks in the same hesitant voice.

"I'm fine," Lucy says as she gives him a smile. She turns her attention to her client, "What is this emotion?"

Mick returns her smile, "Guess."

Lucy looks down at her lap in thought. She lifts her face to look at between Laxus and Mick, "I'm not sure how to describe it. It feels like I'm whole. Like everything in the world is perfect right now."

"I've always called it Content. You feel satisfied with everything around you."

"Yes…that's it exactly. So white means Content," Lucy says with a smile.

Laxus relaxes at Lucy's more positive demeanor but he keeps his guard up. Who knows what the next emotion is going to be.

Lucy talks pleasantly with Mick until the ring changes once more. This time, it changes to a dark red hue. Lucy's face goes from being soft and serene to angry and bitter. She crosses her arms and leans back into the couch with a scowl.

Laxus immediately picks up that this one is anger. Now Laxus may not know a lot about some emotions but he knows plenty about this one. Most of his life has been nothing but anger. Anger at his grandfather, anger at his father, anger at the guild, but mainly, anger with himself.

"So Lucy, how do yo-" Mick begins

"Shut the fuck up! I don't want to play your stupid ass game or be in this fucking shit hole you call a house and I most certainly don't want to be talking to a fucking dickhead like you," Lucy barks at Mick.

Mick just smiles while Laxus' jaw drops. Laxus would have never have imagined those words coming out of Lucy's mouth. Nor did he ever want to.

Lucy jumps up from the couch to continue her rant at Mick…or at least she tries to but the handcuffs keep her from going too far away from Laxus. She turns to look at the handcuffs with a murderous look. It takes all but two seconds for her to shift her attention to Laxus. "What are you looking at scar face?! If you got something to say then say it!" Lucy spat at Laxus.

Laxus jaw drops even further at how Lucy talked to him. _Scar face?_ A part of him is offended at what the celestial mage said while the other is confused as to how to handle his partner. Normally, he would either ignore or insult anyone who would say such things to him but he can't do that with Lucy. She is under the effects of a spell and doesn't know what she's saying. If he insults her right now then he knows that he'll regret it once she takes the ring off.

"Well?! Are you going to say something or has all of the lightning fried that peanut you call a brain?" Lucy tries to get Laxus to respond.

"Lucy, you need to calm down…" Laxus tries to reason with his partner. He raises his arms as he starts to reach out to her.

Lucy's face turns demonic, "I NEED TO CALM DOWN?! I NEED TO CALM DOWN?! I AM CALM! WHY DON'T YOU SHUT YOUR GOD DAMN FUCKING MOUTH, YOU PATHETIC, OVERGROWN EXCUSE FOR A LIGHTBULB!" Lucy yells with her fists shaking.

Laxus blinks up at the blonde woman. He is so confused. First, she gets mad at him for not saying something and demands that he say something. Then she gets mad at him for speaking and tells him to shut up and insults him. What should he do? What can he do? This is why he is not good with women.

"I-" Lucy suddenly stops and her face changes to a dreamy look, "love you!" Lucy throws herself into Laxus' lap with her legs curled to one side and her arms around his neck. Laxus freezes with his right arm out to the side, his left hand pulled behind his head, and a panicked and stupefied look on his face. Lucy starts nuzzling into his neck while whispering how much she loves him and how happy she is to be with him. As Laxus tries to wrap his head around what the hell just happened, Mick gives a hearty chuckle.

"Don't worry the ring just changed color; it's pink now," Mick says happily as he watches the duo.

"What the fuck is she doing?" Laxus tries to pull Lucy's arms from around his neck but her arms spring back into place.

"It looks to me like she's hugging you. What, don't you like hugs?" Mick teases.

"This goes beyond a hug," Laxus protests him predicament.

Mick waves him off, "Can you guess what emotion goes with pink?"

"No."

"Oh, come on. Just one little itty-bitty guess?" Mick tries convince Laxus to play his game but Laxus just glares at his host. "You're no fun. This emotion is Romantic. Anyone under this emotion feels extremely attached to someone else."

"How do I get her to stop?" Laxus asks in an annoyed tone.

Mick laughs, "You don't! You have to wait for the ring to change." Laxus scowls at the laughing man.

Lucy curls her body further into Laxus' lap and hugs him tighter. Laxus frowns at all of the sweet nothings she keeps whispering to him. He tries to pull her off of him only to feel a tug on his shirt. He looks down to see that some fraying threads on the front of her shirt have caught a hold of a couple of his buttons on the front of his shirt. "Lucy, please, stop. You don't know what you're doing," Laxus tries to convince Lucy of her ridiculous behavior.

"No. I want to show you how much I love you!" Lucy says happily as she glances up at Laxus.

Laxus can start to feel his annoyance and anger starting to rise. He hates love potions or any kind of spell that imitates love. It's one of the few things that can make him go from completely calm to murderous in a few seconds. He doesn't want any form of affection unless it's real. And what Lucy is doing right now is not real. It's the farthest thing from it, in fact. It isn't fair to him and it's too painful so he refuses to put up with it. "Lucy, I said stop!" Laxus yells as he forcefully shoves her to the other side of the couch. The entwined buttons rip from Laxus' shirt, causing the top half of his shirt to hang open and show more of his broad chest. Lucy's shirt tears down the middle and extends to her navel.

Lucy's back collides with the armrest and she looks up at Laxus with wide eyes. Tears gather on her bottom eyelids before rolling down her cheeks in thick streams. Laxus' face falls and his body goes slack when he sees her start crying. Her lip starts to trembling as she turns away from him, pulls up her legs, and curls into a ball.

Regret, shock, and guilt immediately fill Laxus' heart. Lucy is under a spell that she had no choice but to cast on herself and that he let her be put under. He shouldn't have been so rough. There is no excuse for how he acted. "Lucy…"

"I-I'm sorry. I'm so-sorry. Ple-ple-please don-don't hat-hate me," Lucy sobs into her knees and arm.

Worry makes him unconsciously reach out to the woman, "I would never hate you."

Lucy curls up into a tighter ball, "Y-y-yes yo-you d-do. You h-hate m-me."

"No, I don't," Laxus says gently as he lays his hand on the back of her shoulder. Lucy immediately pulls away and starts to sob harder. Laxus retracts his hand and self-loathing begins to seep into his veins. He made her cry and he hates himself for it.

Mick sees how hurt Laxus looks at Lucy's behavior and decides to intervene. "It's not your fault." Laxus looks up at the man, "The ring changed again. Lucy is currently feeling Sadness because the ring is blue. She would be crying her eyes out even if you didn't do anything wrong."

Laxus looks back to the upset Lucy only to feel disturbed rather than relieved. This isn't right. No one should be forced to be sad. Especially not Lucy. She is the happiest person he knows and she deserves true happiness. Not sadness, forced happiness, anger, jealousy, or any of the other emotions this ring creates. The two men sit in silence as they wait for the next emotion to pop up.

Soon enough, the ring changes to a purplish color and Lucy immediately stops crying and slowly brings her head up. She slouches back into the couch and lazily looks at the men in the room. "How's it goin'?" Lucy says hazily. Laxus suddenly notices Lucy's torn shirt. He makes a mental note that her bra matches her panties as he looks around for something to cover her up. Seeing the couch pillow, he pushes it in front of his partner to hide her semi-nudity.

"Good, good, just chillin'," Mick says with a big grin.

Lucy gives a slow nod, "That's good." Lucy closes her eyes and starts to take deep breaths. Laxus watches his blonde companion but doesn't say anything. She looks overly calm to him and the last thing he needs is for him to say something and screw everything up.

"Sooooo, Lucy. Do you know what this emotion is?" Mick asks in a sing song voice.

Lucy pouts her lips in exaggerated thought before opening her mouth with a popping sound, "Relaxed?"

Mick claps his hands, "Very good, very good, my dear."

"How many more emotions are left?" Laxus asks.

Mick cups his chin in thought, "After this one…two."

 _Thank fucking god this shit is almost over,_ Laxus internally cheers. The next few minutes pass calmly with Lucy breathing deeply, Laxus watching silently and on edge for the next emotion to come through, and Mick eager for his game to continue. Both Mick and Laxus watch as the ring turns a bright red.

Lucy lifts her body to sit up straight and she turns her head to look at Laxus. He notices that the look in her eye has changed from a hazy, sleepy look to a fierce, hungry look and he unconsciously backs up further into the couch. Lucy drags her eyes down from his and looks him up and down. A weird feeling of self-consciousness skims through Laxus at how blatantly Lucy is admiring him.

"Oh Laxus, if you didn't like Romantic then you're really not going to like this one," Mick snickers.

Laxus didn't have time to ask what his host meant before Lucy climbs over and straddles his lap. "Lucy?! What the hell?!" Laxus half yells as his eyes go wide. He freezes when he sees the look in her eye. She looks like a starving woman…and he was her favorite entrée.

Lucy pays him no mind as she presses her palms onto the exposed parts of his chest. The rapid pace of his heart under her hands entices her more and she can feel herself become wetter with anticipation. He looks so delicious; his spiky blonde hair, strong features, tight black pants and his simple purple button-down shirt that has a few buttons ripped off to teasingly show his muscled torso. Every hard, chiseled, well-worked muscle that makes up the blonde man sits underneath her just waiting to be touched, licked, and kissed. And she wants to taste _every inch_ of him.

Sliding her hands down, she feels the smooth skin over his toned muscles until she reaches the first unbroken button. Her tongue darts out over her lips before she nibbles on her lower lip as her fingers caress the button. Without hesitation she nimbly pushes the button through its loop before moving down to the next one. She pushes the next button through with as much ease as the first. Lucy curves her left hand under his shirt and around his side while the other treads up and follows the deep line in the center of his chest.

Lucy leans forward and gives an tentative lick to the hollow of Laxus' throat. Laxus sucks in a ragged breath of air and that turns Lucy on even more. She presses her body against his and begins to slowly kiss his throat. She feels him swallow and start taking heavier breaths. Moans slip past her lips as she enjoys the taste of rain, fresh cut green grass, and limes.

Laxus breaks out of his trance and his heart rate skyrockets when Lucy places her hands on the center of his chest. He tries to take a moment to get his bearings but his mind gets stuck on the greatest view he has ever seen. Her arms push her tremendous amount of cleavage together to make her look like she could burst out of her black, lacy bra at any second. Then her thin waist leads down into her wide hips which sit perfectly on top of his. The erotic sight and the feel of her hands makes his blood run south. The deeper, instinctive part of him claws at his insides and demands for him to touch her. He knows he needs stop her and he almost does until he sees her lick and bite her lips. All coherent thoughts of stopping her gets shoved aside and he can only stare at her plump lips as she starts to undress him. His instincts purr in delight as he openly lets her feel his flesh and he has to bite back a groan.

Laxus sucks in a ragged breath when he feels her lean forward and gently lick his neck. The air between them is heavily coated in her arousal and the breath he took floods his senses with the overwhelming smell and taste. It is the most unbelievable thing that he has ever had the honor of smelling and it makes his mouth water. Lucy begins to kiss the center of his throat and he gulps and starts breathing heavy as his mind goes into a haze of lust. His dick hardens from how tightly her body is pressed against his own, how well he can feel all of her stupendous curves, and the ever thickening smell of her excitement. His instincts scream at him to leave this god forsaken place and take her somewhere more private to dominate her. To pound into her until she is hoarse from screaming his name and her legs are too sore to walk.

Lucy grinds herself down against his hard on and that motion shocks Laxus out of his daze. No. No, he won't do this. His instincts protest his sudden change of attitude and urge him to focus on the girl in his lap but Laxus refuses to give in to himself. _This is so fucking unfair…_ Laxus moans internally. This is the kind of shit he dreams about and now that he is in a position to feel her, she has to be under a spell. He would never take advantage of Lucy, no matter how badly he wants her. Shaking his head, Laxus grabs Lucy's wrists and pulls them behind her back. Pulling her arms back, Lucy is forced backwards and off of Laxus' torso. Lucy tries to lean forward to continue kissing and touching his throat and chest but is prohibited by Laxus' firm grip. A loud laugh reminds Laxus that Mick has been in the room the entire time.

"Now what is she doing?!" Laxus yells breathlessly at Mick over Lucy's shoulder.

"Can't you guess what emotion this is?" Mick says as he wiggles his eyebrows at the dragon slayer.

"I don't care about your fucking game, now tell me what's wrong with her!"

Mick gives a small pout before resigning to Laxus' demands. "If it isn't obvious already, this is Sensual. She gets very…touchy-feely during this emotion."

Lucy starts to thrash in his hold but the lightning slayer is determined to not let her continue her caressing. He can't let her continue if he wants any hope of keeping his sanity intact. He is about to tell at her to quit squirming when Lucy's struggling suddenly stops. He snaps his eyes back to Lucy's face and finds her with a vacant look.

"Lucy?" Laxus asks hesitantly. She still has her shirt open and her breasts are about to overflow from her scantily covering bra. Laxus has to force his eyes not to drop below Lucy's chin.

Lucy doesn't answer and continues to stare at him with dead eyes and slightly parted lips. "Lucy, are you okay?" Laxus asks in a worried tone as he releases his hold on her wrists. Lucy still doesn't answer him and remains perfectly still. Worry and pain bloom in his chest from her unresponsiveness and the look in her eye. It's as if there is no more life left in her body. No happiness, no sadness, no pain, no anything. Just…nothing. It unnerves and hurts Laxus far more than he thought possible to see her this way.

Laxus grabs Lucy's upper arms and shakes her. "Answer me," he says in a firm voice but Lucy only continues to stare into empty space. Laxus wants to panic; he wants to shake or yell at her until she snaps out of whatever trance like state she's in. Anything, as long as she comes back to him.

He opens his mouth when he is stopped by Mick. "She's alright Laxus. She is just in the last emotion."

Laxus looks at the ring to find it black. "What is this?"

"I've always called it Hollow. When a person is under this emotion, they don't feel any emotion. They are completely numb to whatever is happening around them. Like a comatose state. It's sorta the opposite of Content, if you will."

"This is the last one?"

"Yep, this is the last emotion."

"Then I'm going to take the ring off," Laxus says sternly. Mick doesn't argue and holds up his hands in mock surrender. Laxus gently grabs Lucy's left hand and pulls on the ring with as little force as possible. The ring doesn't budge so Laxus applies some more force but it still doesn't move. He tries twisting and pulling to no avail. The ring just doesn't want to come off. "Oh fuck," Laxus hisses between his teeth.

"What's the matter?" Mick asks curiously.

Laxus glares up at his host, "It's stuck."

Mick tilts his head to the side, "What do you mean?"

"I mean, it's stuck. It won't come off," Laxus growls at the man.

"Here, let me try," Mick says as he moves to try to remove the ring.

Seeing the older man come closer makes Laxus wrap his free arm around Lucy's waist and pull her into his chest. "Not until her shirt is fixed," Laxus says.

Mick frowns at his company but relents. He immediately calls in the maid from earlier and asks her to pin Lucy's shirt up. The maid takes out three bobby pins from her pocket and moves to fasten Lucy's shirt together. The second she reaches forward, Lucy bolts up and looks around the room.

Lucy sees the pointy end of bobby pins and freaks out. She shrieks at the top of her lungs and jumps up from Laxus' lap to run away. The handcuffs stop her retreat though and yank her back onto the couch. The poor maid tries to calm Lucy down but she keeps screaming and trying to run away. Laxus finally grabs Lucy from behind and pulls her to his chest. Lucy struggles in his hold and begs him to let her go.

After struggling with the thrashing blonde, the maid is barely able to pin Lucy's shirt together. Laxus looks down at his partner. Even though her shirt is pinned together, anyone can still see parts of her bra and skin but it will have to do for now. Him and Lucy can get her shirt properly repaired later. Right now, he needs to get rid of this stupid ring.

The maid steps back and Mick steps up to grab the ring. Lucy stops screaming and deeply relaxes against Laxus' chest. Laxus doesn't let go of her though as him and Lucy watch Mick trying to pull the ring off. Every tug on Lucy's hand yanks her forward in Laxus' arms but he never slackens his hold. After several minutes of twisting, pulling, and tugging, Mick gives up.

He tells the maid the bring some butter and to call the butler in. Lucy changes emotions again and instantly becomes the most bubbly and happy person on the face of the planet. She tries jump up but Laxus refuses to let go.

The maid comes back in with the butter and the butler. Mick, the butler, and the maid try to slather some of the slippery substance on Lucy's hand but Lucy keeps flailing her arm around and making it difficult for the trio to work.

That is how the next hour proceeds. Mick, the maid, and the butler all try to pull the ring off that in coated with butter while Laxus holds the extremely mood-swingy Lucy. The whole process would have been a lot of easier if Lucy wasn't either screaming, hitting everyone, trying hug Laxus, or crying at some point or another.

Finally, with a hard tug on her finger the ring slips off and the maid, butler, and Mick go tumbling onto floor with a plop. Lucy and Laxus are propelled backwards into the soft cushions of the couch. Lucy has her back pressed into Laxus' chest with his arms tightly wrapped around her as her head spins from the release of the spell. "Oh my god…" Lucy murmurs as she slumps against Laxus' chest. Laxus loosens his hold on her enough to give her some breathing room and wills himself not to look down her shirt.

During the spell her mind retained its thoughts and free thinking but her body automatically followed whatever emotion surged through it. It was like her body was completely separated from her mind and there was nothing she could have done to manipulate her body. Now that the ring is off, she starts to regain control of her body but she feels faint.

After a while Lucy's head stops swirling around and she is able to control her own body once more. Lucy notices her position and badly pinned shirt and looks up at Laxus. Everything she did while under the spell of the ring comes flooding back to her and her face turns redder and hotter than a molten magma. She panics and slides out of his hold and over to her side of the couch to put as much distance between them. She grabs the couch pillow, hugs it close to her chest, and buries her face in the soft fabric. A small blush creeps over Laxus cheeks as he fixes his shirt.

"Alright! Now for our second item!" Mick yells happily. The maid and the butler walk out of the room and after ten minutes, wheel in a cart with five male busts on top of it. They stop in front of the desk and go to stand off to the side. Mick hops up on his desk and lets his feet swing and hang. "These are my Singing Busts! They are altered magically to be able to sing certain songs! Let's have a demonstration! First off is 'Life Will Get You in the End'."

Chords of a guitar strum through the air around the trio. Laxus and Lucy look around the room to try to find where the sound is coming from. It sounds as if there really is a person playing a guitar right beside them but there is no one. But all thought of how the music is playing ceases once the busts start singing.

 _Life will get you in the end,_

 _On this one thing, you can depend._

 _When you're on the bridge of death,_

 _Don't hold your final breath,_

 _Cause life will get you in the end._

 _A life can drive you around the bend,_

 _You think it's never gonna end._

 _Then somebody comes along,_

 _And reminds you in a song,_

 _That life will get you in the end._

 _Rattling 'round the universe,_

 _As a human being, while it could be worse._

 _Life's a gift, it's not a curse,_

 _So live your blimey..._

 _Life will get you in the end,_

 _And so farewell to you my friend._

 _One final thing to try,_

 _Is bend and kiss your ass goodbye._

 _Cause life will get you in the end._

Mick gives a round of applause as Lucy and Laxus stare dumbfounded at the statues. _Is that supposed to make us feel better?!_ the two blondes think simultaneously. Two people who have been cursed by luck dice and have been through a series of unfortunate events in the past twenty-four hours do not want to hear that life will get them in the end.

"This next song is called the 'Penis Song'," Mick says with enthusiasm. Lucy and Laxus' eyes go wide and they look taken aback. Few piano keys sound and then the statues all start in sync.

 _Isn't it awfully nice to have a penis?_

 _Isn't it frightfully good to have a dong?_

 _It's swell to have a stiffy._

 _It's divine to own a dick,_

 _From the tiniest little tadger_

 _To the world's biggest prick._

 _So, three cheers for your Willy or John Thomas._

 _Hooray for your one-eyed trouser snake,_

 _Your piece of pork, your wife's best friend,_

 _Your Percy, or your cock._

 _You can wrap it up in ribbons._

 _You can slip it in your sock,_

 _But don't take it out in public,_

 _Or they will stick you in the dock,_

 _And you won't come back._

Lucy and Laxus are mortified, embarrassed, and stupefied at what they just heard. After the third verse Lucy covered her bright red face in her hands and buried her face in her pillow once again. Halfway through, Laxus closed his eyes and imagined himself anywhere but there.

"Now the third so-"

"No!" Lucy snaps up head up that it looks like it almost broke her neck. "No, no, and no! They work, we'll take them, end of story," she finishes in one breath. Her face is darker than Erza's hair and she doesn't need any more embarrassment than what she has already had to endure today.

Mick's eyebrows rise into his hair at the young lady's sudden outburst but he doesn't argue. He shrugs his shoulders and has the statues sent away. "Well," Mick claps his hands together and hops off his desk, "that's all I have for you today! Unless you want to stay for some tea of course!"

"No, thank you. We have another appointment we have to be at," Lucy says as her and Laxus stand up to leave. They want to get the hell out of there. This whole encounter has been traumatic enough. Mick escorts the two blondes to the front door. He gives them a hearty goodbye before shutting the door.

The two mages walk in silence to the gate. Neither one knowing what could possibly be said after that experience.

As they reach the gate, Lucy stops and turns to Laxus but keeps her eyes down. "Laxus…I'm really, really sorry about what happened."

"Forget it. You were under a spell and didn't know what you were doing so I can't hold it against you. I'm sorry about your shirt," Laxus sighs.

"It's okay, it was my fault," Lucy unconsciously wraps her arms around her breasts to cover them up.

Even Laxus can see how horribly embarrassed Lucy is about what happened. He shrugs off his coat and drapes the fabric over her shoulders. Lucy is startled by the sudden movement and looks up at Laxus with a shocked expression when she notices the coat. "You can wear it until your shirt gets fixed," he says as he pulls it tighter around her body.

Lucy's heart swells and is left speechless at the kind gesture. A light blush creeps over her cheeks from how gentle and caring he's being towards her. Even after everything she did and how much she embarrassed both of them while she was under that spell, he still tries to make her feel better. "Thank you Laxus," she whispers with small smile as she snuggles into his big, comfy coat. Laxus can't help but feel proud that he helped her.

"Come on, we need to see our next client. Where is the next address?"

Lucy pulls out the address list from her pocket and reads it off. Mr. Tweed told them that it should be located somewhere in the forest. The two mages decide that they'll ask someone in town for directions.

 **I just want to give credit where credit is due. Both of the songs mentioned earlier belong to the creators of Monty Python and Eric Idle. If anyone is interested, please check out these YouTube videos to hear the songs. Thanks for reading and I hope you have a fabulous day!**

 **watch?v=vEuml93HPCQ**

 **watch?v=nGRPFUYUUdQ**


	11. Chapter 11

**Thank you for being patient with me as I was fixing my previous chapters. Is the story better now with the revised chapters? Please let me know! Oh and leave me a review!**

 **To XxShyxX: I thought about making her wear it throughout the mission but ultimately decided against it. Thank you for your reviews and continuous support! I really appreciate it!**

 **I also want to give another shout out to kurahieiritr JIO for her continuous support and reviews. Thanks!**

 **Hiro Mashima owns Fairy Tail and all corresponding characters. I only own the extra characters and plot.**

Lucy and Laxus walk through Crystal Oak to the train station. They have just returned from their last appointment in the forest.

The seller was an old lady who was selling her late husband's magical feathered pen. The pen had the ability to write whatever a person said out loud. Needless to say, Lucy was over the moon when she saw it…but got extremely depressed when she realized that she couldn't have it. To make the celestial mage feel better, the old woman gave Lucy a copy of her deceased husband's biography. Lucy happily took the book and thanked the woman for her kindness.

Lucy looks down at the book in her hands as she speaks to Laxus, "I didn't expect for the appointment to go that well."

"Me neither," Laxus replies with his normal bored look. He honestly expected something to go horribly wrong but thankfully nothing did. "How many more stops do we have?" he asks in a gruff voice.

Lucy lets go of one side of his coat and reaches into her pocket to pull out the schedule. "It looks like we have three more items and three more clients to meet." She puts the schedule away and hugs Laxus' coat around her body once more.

"Good, I'm ready for this job to be ove-"

"OH MY GOD!" multiple voices scream.

A rumbling sound is heard as Laxus and Lucy turn around to see a barrage of woman running towards them screeching. They begin to move out of the way until two women shove Lucy out of the way to grab onto each of Laxus' arms. She only gets shoved ahead of him because of the handcuffs. The other women finally catch up and swarm around Laxus.

Lucy and Laxus look around at the crowd in surprise. Every woman is yelling something different causing all of their sentences to be muddled. The only thing Lucy can interrupt is "He's here! Oh my god, he's here!"

"What's going on?" Lucy says to no one in particular. None of the women pay any attention to her and her question. Instead, they close in further on Laxus.

"I'm your biggest fan!" The woman on his right yells. Laxus raises his eyebrows at the woman.

"No, I'm your biggest fan!" The woman on his left yells louder than the woman on the right. Laxus turns to look at the woman on his left.

"No…I am!" The woman on the right yells with a harsher tone as she tugs Laxus closer to her and away from the woman on the left.

"In your dreams!" the other woman spits as she pulls Laxus toward her.

The two women continue to yell at one another and pull Laxus back and forth. Lucy can see irritation crawling its way onto Laxus' face as he is used as the rope in a game of tug-of-war. The crowd of women began to yell how they are his biggest fan and get so close to him that they almost touch him.

 _Don't electrocute them, don't electrocute them,_ Laxus chants as a mantra inside his head.

"I said let go, you wench!" the woman on the right yells as she yanks hard on Laxus' arm. A loud ripping noise is heard and causes the entire crowd to immediately hush. The women look at the woman who was holding on to Laxus right arm to see her holding his right sleeve in her hands.

"I got his shirt!" The woman yells as she holds it up for the rest of the women to see. All of the other women gasp. In a single instant, the crowd reaches out and starts pulling on his shirt. Women push and shove to grab a handful of Laxus' shirt as they try to rip it from his body. Laxus is so shocked by having his shirt ripped from his body that he is not prepared for the onslaught of greedy hands. He is pulled in all directions as his shirt is grabbed from every angle. The women's long nails accidently scratch him and leave bruises as they start tearing his shirt off.

Lucy is in no way any better. She is sandwiched between two particularly violent women and she has to use both of her hands to grip Laxus' coat around her body so it doesn't get lost in the fray.

Within minutes, the swarm of women had ripped Laxus' entire shirt away and are fighting over the torn fabric pieces. Coming out of his stupor, Laxus sees Lucy in the crowd and pulls her into his bare chest. She comes face-to-face with his black, swirling tattoo that decorates the left side of his chest and abs. She revels in the safety of his body and prays that they will make it out of this alive.

One woman looks up from her private argument and looks at Laxus. "Hey…wait a minute. You're not Derrek Kenworth! He doesn't have any tattoos," she says in an offended tone.

All of the other woman instantly stop and stare at a confused and stunned Laxus holding a shocked and sweatdropping Lucy. "She's right!", "He's a fake!", "Ewww!" the women yell as they throw what's left of Laxus' shirt on the ground.

Lucy and Laxus watch as the crowd of angry women disperse. The two blondes slowly turn their heads to look at each other in stunned silence. "What the hell was that?" Laxus asks incredulously. He was so stunned by the onslaught of the overzealous women that he forgot to ask.

"I think that they thought you were some guy named Derrek Kenworth. He must be some kind of celebrity or something," Lucy answers to the best of her knowledge.

Lucy looks down to see Laxus' chiseled chest and suddenly realizes where she is. She is standing in the middle of a street with three bobby pins barely holding her shirt together and hugging a very shirtless, very hunky Laxus Dreyer. Her face blooms in a brilliant shade of red as she tries to back away.

She remembers the Sensual emotion all to well. How she undressed him and then kissed his throat. That was the most embarrassing thing that she has ever done and she can't think about it without blushing. Thank god Laxus had the sense to stop her before it went any further. It must have been shocking if he let it get as far as it did. That's why she swears not to touch Laxus anymore during the whole trip.

Laxus drops his arms from around Lucy's figure and steps back to give her some room. "Are you alright?" he asks.

Lucy gives herself a quick once over and doesn't notice any cuts, bruises, or tears in Laxus' coat, "Yeah, I'm fine." Lucy finally notices the varying sizes of pieces of his shirt lying on the ground. She looks up to sees Laxus covered in small bruises and cuts and starts to freak out, "Oh my god! Are _you_ okay?"

"I'm fine," Laxus says with his normal frown and empathetic look.

Lucy looks him over with a worried look. She pulls off his coat and holds it out to him, "Here."

Laxus quirks an eyebrow at Lucy, "What?"

"You need it more than I do."

Laxus stares at Lucy for a minute before grabbing his coat and pulling it over his shoulders. Lucy gives him a small smile but Laxus can still see the worry in her eyes. "Really, I'm fine," he says.

She nods her head and takes a deep breath, "Don't worry I believe you. Let's get going, we're going to be late for our train." Lucy turns to continue along the road with Laxus following silently beside her.

The train blows its final whistle for boarding passenger when Lucy and Laxus reach the train station. Every car is filled with people and there doesn't look like there are any available seats. They hop on to one car when they see an open window seat from the outside.

The announcer comes on over the lacrima system to announce that they the train will pull out of the station in a couple of minutes. Laxus looks around to see that every seat, except the window seat, is occupied.

Making a split decision, Laxus grabs Lucy's wrist and pulls her over to the seat. He plops down and pulls Lucy to sit sideways on his lap. A small squeak peeps from Lucy as Laxus wraps his free hand around her waist and lays their handcuffed hands on top of her legs which are in the inside of his own.

A blushing Lucy is about to protest to the seating arrangements when Laxus cuts her off, "There's nowhere else to sit unless you want to sit on the floor for the next four hours."

Lucy closes her mouth and puff outs her cheeks to hide her blush. She just swore that she wouldn't touch Laxus' body for the remainder of the trip and here she is touching him again!

They hear a strangled gurgle of air across from them and look to see a weird looking man staring at Lucy with a perverted look. His eyes roam over her figure and lets out another gurgle of air with a crooked smile. All of the other passengers give him disgusted looks or shake their heads.

A shudder of disgust and fear runs down Lucy's spine and she covers her breasts with her free arm. Laxus gives the man a death glare to send him shriveling back into his seat. He pulls his coat from behind him and lays it over the top his and Lucy's bodies.

Lucy looks over at Laxus surprised only to find him giving the creepy man the deepest frown he can muster. She gives him a small smile and relaxes against his torso. She squeezes her new book between Laxus' leg and the train car wall. In order for her free arm not to be pinned between their bodies she stretches her arm around his neck to rest across his shoulders.

The train whistle blows as the train begins to pull out of the station. Laxus immediate turns green and his head drops to the side to land on Lucy's chest. She calls out his name in protest but stops herself from yelling further when he groans in misery. Feeling bad for the poor lightning slayer, Lucy decides to let him rest against her. She carefully maneuvers his head to a more comfortable position right above her heart.

Laxus deeply breathes in Lucy's scent and the raging war in his stomach calms down. The melodic, rhythmic beating of her heart rings through his ear and engrains itself into his memory. It is the most comforting music he has ever heard and it steadily lulls him into deep slumber. His arms unconsciously pull her closer to secure her in his hold.

She hears him start to take deeper breathes as he falls asleep against her chest. Strands of soft, spiky hair tickle her nose as they brush against her cheek and she lets out a light giggle at the feeling. She lays her cheek on the top of his head as she begins to relax for the four hour train ride. Warmth that radiates from Laxus' body is trapped by his coat and warms Lucy to the perfect temperature. Not too hot and not too cold.

A wide yawn reminds Lucy of the lack of sleep that she and Laxus have had to endure with everything else that has happened. Neither of them has slept in over twenty-four hours and she can feel the drowsiness start to set in. _I'll just close my eyes for a minute…_ she thinks as she drifts off to blissful and much needed sleep.

* * *

"Ma'am? Sir?" Lucy hears a faint female voice calls out. "You have to wake up."

Lucy snuggles further into her comfy pillow. It's too early to get up. She was having the weirdest dream. She went on a job with Laxus and they rolled this pair of luck dice that gave them bad luck. Everything that could have gone wrong did and they wound up handcuffed together. Weird huh?

"Ma'am please, you can't sleep here," the voice says in a clearer tone.

Lucy feels a hand on her shoulder shaking her awake and cracks open one eye to see a fuzzy outline of woman leaning over her. She blinks a few times and the woman's image becomes sharper. The woman is wearing a train attendant's uniform and is asking Lucy if she can please wake up her boyfriend.

Lucy narrows her eyes as she leans her head up. _Boyfriend? What boyfriend? Why are you in my bedroom?_ She is about to question the strange woman when she hears a deep, masculine groan under her chin and big, muscular arms grip her waist tighter. Her eyes nearly pop out of their sockets when she sees a snoozing Laxus lying against her heart with his coat draped over them.

She starts to look around her frantically trying to find any answers to her current situation when everything comes crashing to the forefront of her mind. Her dream…it was real. She really is cursed by luck dice and handcuffed to Laxus. That's why she is on the train and in Laxus' lap. Laxus must be who the attendant is referring to when she said boyfriend. Lucy facepalms at her forgetfulness and stupidity.

"I need to ask the both of you to exit the train. The janitors need to clean the car and we need all passengers off before they can do so," the attendant says as she straightens up.

"Oh, okay. Laxus wake up," Lucy says as she gives Laxus a shake.

Laxus groans before rolling his head around and opening his eyes. "What's going on?"

"Laxus it's time for us to get off the train," Lucy says as she tries to stand up but his heavy arms prohibit any movement on her part.

"Alright," Laxus slurs as he releases his grip on her waist and yanks the coat off of their bodies. He doesn't want to get up but he forces himself to. This headache he has is killing him and he just wants to sleep it off.

As Lucy and Laxus stand up and stretch out their limbs, the attendant's eyes go wide when she sees their states. Laxus has no shirt, sleep hair, and small cuts and bruises all over his body. Lucy has a torn shirt that is held by three pins that barely covers her black bra and has a line of dried drool on her breast. The oddest thing though is that these two people are handcuffed together! The attendant looks at them like the crazy people that they are. "Are you two alright?"

Lucy looks up at the attendant and completely misses her worried look, "Yes, we're fine now that we got some sleep."

The attendant slowly nods her head while still looking skeptical, "If you say so."

"Why is it so dark?" Laxus asks as he pulls his coat around his shoulders.

Lucy turns around to see that it's nighttime and the sky is completely black. No moon or stars or anything. "Yeah, I didn't think that it got this dark at 6 p.m.," Lucy says as she grabs her book.

"Ummm…it's not six o'clock, it's two o'clock," the train attendant corrects Lucy.

Lucy and Laxus give the attendant their undivided attention. "What?" they ask together.

"It's not 6 p.m., its 2 a.m."

"If we arrived in Armonk eight hours ago then why didn't you wake us up then?" Lucy asks incredulously.

The attendant tilts her head in confusion, "Armonk? This isn't Armonk. The train stopped in Armonk eight hours ago."

Lucy and Laxus' jaws drop, "WHAT?!"

The attendant explains to the two mages that they must have overslept and missed their designated stop and that the next train to Armonk won't leave until eight o'clock in the morning. Lucy tells her that they need to _arrive_ at their appointment in Armonk by seven o'clock. The attendant apologizes for their bad luck but tells them that there is nothing that the train system can do.

Lucy drops her head in defeat. _Why does this always happen to me?! I'm never going to be able to pay my rent! I'm going to be forced to live on the street in a cardboard box! No comfy bed, no steamy baths, no hot tea, no books, nothing!...No! I refuse! I will keep my bathtub whether or not it's the last thing I do!_

Shaking her head, Lucy clenches her fists in determination to finish her job for the sake of her bathing privileges. She asks the attendant if there is a map of the general area anywhere nearby and the attendant takes her and Laxus to the train station management office to show them the maps.

Pulling out the maps that show the nearby towns, Lucy finds a particular one and points to it. "There's a seller in Raell which is five hours away from here by walking. I bet we can go and see him without a scheduled appointment. If we leave right now then we can get there with some time to spare. Then we can catch a train to the other towns afterwards."

"Whatever," Laxus says with a huff.

Lucy thanks the attendant after she gives them directions out of town. As Lucy and Laxus start their five hour trek down a dirt road.

The darkness of the night shrouds everything around them in thick blackness and makes the trees alongside the road look like big, black, looming shadows that wish to gobble up any traveler that gets too close. Fear runs down Lucy's spine and she has to restrain herself from grabbing onto Laxus coat. Luckily, Laxus can see with his enhanced vision and guides Lucy down the winding path.

They hear a thunderous crack overhead and feel a few raindrops fall from the sky. More raindrops follow the initial ones and soon turn to a downpour onto the two mages.

"You have got to be kidding…" Lucy moans.

"Come on, let's get moving," an annoyed Laxus yanks on the handcuffs.

She offers no argument and walks beside him in the cold rain. Lucy wraps her arms around her body to warm herself up but quickly feels Laxus dropping his coat on top of her head again.

Lucy greedily takes the coat and hugs it close to warm up her skin. She looks over at the shirtless, covered in cuts and bruises, eyes forward, frowning Laxus and thanks him. He doesn't say anything and continues to guide them along the path.

* * *

They walk for an hour and a half in the rain and mud. Every so often Laxus will hear Lucy complain or groan about the rain and think about how much she sounds like Evergreen.

One side of the road drops off into a large hill and water and mud run off the side and down to wherever the hill leads. Lucy walks closer to the edge to see if she can see what's at the bottom. Without the trees, she can see the hill but she cannot see the bottom. Oh well, no luck. She isn't too close to the edge but she is closer than Laxus.

"Don't get too close to the edge," he warns his companion.

"I won't as long as you don't," Lucy states. After all, she cannot go more than a foot away from her partner. Even if she did fall off she knows Laxus would just pull her up.

"Why would I-"

 _Rumble…Rumble…_

"What's that noise?" Lucy asks as she looks at her feet.

They hear another rumble before they feel the mud under their feet give way. A huge section of the road collapses and begins to roll down the hill. The slippery mud catches both Laxus and Lucy's legs and carries them over the edge as they yelp in surprise. Lucy yanks Laxus' coat around her with all of her strength as she grasps her book in her arms.

Rocks, bushes, and trees line the hill and hit the two mages as they tumble down along with the flowing mud. The damn handcuffs make the two stay close to one another and occasionally make them run into one another. The mudslide levels out as it hits the bottom and spreads out along the base; leaving two muddy, dirty, ragged, blondes in the middle of a barren road.

Mud has completely covered every inch of their bodies as they pull themselves upwards. Both of their hair has turned light brown from the mud and the rain makes the mud run down their faces and bodies. Whatever doesn't get washed out from the rain stains their skin and hair to leave them with splotchy light brown spots wherever the mud stuck.

"What…was that?" Lucy says as she spits out some watery mud.

"A mudslide. The rain must have caused it," Laxus answers as he swipes as much mud as he can off of his body. He gets most of it off of his body but his black pants and boots are effectively a light brown color now. The rocks and bushes have added more bruises and cuts to his collection and makes him look like he just came out of a papercut factory.

"Well that's just great…" Lucy moans. During the entire fall, she kept her clothes and book covered with his coat so none of them got covered, much to her joy. The only thing that is damaged is her left boot which got caught by a tree root and had the sole ripped off. She stands up to shake any excess mud off of Laxus' coat. There are only a few tears in the sleeves and around the hem but those can be repaired with ease. A wave of relief comes over Lucy at the minor damage report.

"We need to figure out where we are," Laxus says as he looks around. He sees that they are on a muddy road with the large hill on one side and trees on the other. There is nothing around that indicates where they might be.

"It doesn't seem like there are any signs anywhere. Maybe we should just continue going the same direction that we were before?"

"Sounds like a plan."

Lucy and Laxus begin to head down the new road and hope that they are going in the right direction. Knowing their luck, they're not.

* * *

An hour later, neither blonde has seen any indication that they are going the right way. Lucy steps into a puddle of mud and gets her damaged boot stuck. She pulls on her leg to free it but it remains stuck. Laxus recommends leaving it and with his help, Lucy frees her leg but leaves her boot stuck in middle of the road. Now she has to walk along a muddy road in one boot.

The rattle of a wheel makes Lucy and Laxus turn around to see a man driving an old carriage. Lucy waves her hand and the old man stops once he reaches her.

"What in the blazes are you two youngsters doin' in this rain?" the man demands. Laxus thinks that it is weird for the man to use the word 'youngsters' because he doesn't look more than forty.

"We were on another road when we got caught up in a mudslide and fell down a hill to this road. Do you know which way Raell is?" Lucy pleads.

"Sure," the man nods, "You're goin' the right way and I'm headin' there right now. Hop on in the back and I'll give you a lift."

"Really? Thank you so much," Lucy says as she tugs Laxus to the back of the carriage.

Coming around to the back, they see the large drape of clothe that hides everything from the outside. As they look in the back, they see that it is filled with bags of grain, chicken coops, farming tools, wood planks, and animal skins. They lift themselves into the carriage and situate themselves between the bags of grain and the animal skins. Another drape of cloth separates the driver from the back of the carriage and Lucy's sight of the driver.

Lucy suggests that Laxus lay down for the trip to help his motion sickness. Laxus 'hmphs' at her but lies his head down on her lap anyway. It still amazes him that her scent and touch is the greatest medicine for motion sickness he has ever come across. He is almost tempted to force her to come on jobs with him and the Thunder Legion just so he won't get sick.

He lays face down on her thighs and wraps his free arm around her waist. Lucy blushes at the intimate act but keeps her mouth shut. She did tell him to lie down, after all.

The cart jerks forward and begins to move down the muddy road. Laxus, as customary, immediately turns green and makes gurgling noises in his throat. Lucy starts to massage his scalp and pulls out the book she got from their last client. The wonderful feeling of her hands in his hair lulls the lightning slayer to sleep while the celestial mage gets lost in her book.

* * *

They move steadily along the road for two hours in peaceful silence. The only noise is Laxus' light snoring, the farming items jiggling in place, and the rain pattering on the carriage cloth top. It's only broken when the cart comes to a stop. "Hang on, gotta take a leak," the man announces as he jumps off the driver's seat. Lucy scrunches up her face in disgust and goes back to her reading.

The driver finishes his business when he hears footsteps in the mud. He turns around to see a tall blonde man with a scar on his face. The man smiles to reveal missing teeth before attacking the driver. A smaller man comes out of the trees and helps the blonde man beat up the innocent driver. The driver tries to scream for help but the tall blonde man kicks him in the stomach and knocks him out.

Both bandits carry the man to the edge of the trees and lay his body on the ground. The thieves jump into the driver's seat and turn the carriage around. They start down the same path that the carriage just came.

Due to the rain, neither Lucy nor Laxus heard the commotion outside of the cart. They sat or laid in ignorance to the fact that they are being unknowingly kidnapped and driven in the opposite direction of Raell.

* * *

Lucy is halfway through her book when she decides to put it down. She delved so deeply in this author's life story that she has lost track of the time. The rain has stopped and faint sunlight begins to highlight everything inside the carriage.

"Excuse me, how much further is it to Raell?" she calls out to the driver.

The cart comes to a sudden stop and the two thieves pull the drape up and stare wide-eyed at the two blondes in the back. It's pretty obvious that they were not expecting passengers.

Lucy stares back at the new people confused. _Who are they?_

Both bandits jump out of the seat and head around the carriage to the back. They pull the drape up to revel the dumfounded Lucy and sleeping Laxus. "Where did you two come from?" a tall blonde man asks.

"We've been here. Who are you?" Lucy says offensively.

"We're the bandits that stole this cart," the smaller man says.

"Ehhh?!"

The bandits jump into the back and surround Lucy. She reaches for her keys, only to find an empty space. Remembering that she gave them to Virgo, she starts to panic. She tries to shake Laxus awake but each thief grabs one of her arms.

The blonde thief gives her a big grin that shows off his missing teeth, "Yeah. Now if you would excuse us, we have someplace to be."

Lucy cringes in disgust from the thief's disgusting smile as she is tossed off the wagon onto her stomach. She starts to get up but has the wind is knocked out of her lungs and her eyes bug out from having Laxus pushed on top of her sideways.

"Thank you for riding Bandit Way Carriages, you have a nice day," the smaller thief laughs as the bigger thief starts to drive away.

Lucy reaches behind her and tries to hit Laxus awake. "Laxus! Laxus, wake up! You're crushing me!"

Lucy's loud yelling and something that feels like mosquito bites brings him out of his dreamless sleep. "Uhhhh…what the hell is going on?" Laxus moans as he unconsciously sits up and rubs his head.

She frowns at her partner with a disbelieving look, "We got kidnapped."

He looks at her like she's crazy, "What?"

Lucy points to where the cart was and explains to Laxus what happened to them in the last few minutes.

"You're shitting me…"

"Nope. What's worse is that I have no idea where we are."

Laxus looks around at his surroundings until his eyes land on something in the middle of the road. "Look," he says as he points to the object.

Lucy follows his finger and almost falls over when she sees what he's pointing at. Her boot. Her torn up, stuck in the mud boot that she left behind when they got on the carriage in the very first place.

"We're right back where we were!" she yells as she pulls on her hair.

"Looks like it. But at least now we have a trail to follow," he says as he looks at the cart wheel tracks.

Lucy drops her head in total dejection and mumbles something about stupid dice. Laxus shakes his head before he begins to walk along the road again.

* * *

Raell comes into sight three hours later at noon and Lucy has to stop herself from crying when they walk into the town. "We're here…we're finally here…" she groans in exhaustion.

"Let's go see the seller," Laxus says.

Lucy is tempted to just fall to the ground and refuse to walk any further but instead she nods and pulls out the sheet with the address. They find a local and get directions from them. The local gives them a worried look but doesn't question why the two blondes look so terrible.

They go to the south side of town to a medium sized building. Inside, they see that the building is a gym. There are weights, a boxing ring, mats, weight lifting benches, a track, and a swimming pool situated around the interior. Several men are working out and take no notice of the new visitors.

A barrel-chested man with a handlebar moustache and wearing what looks like wrestler's underwear comes up to the Laxus and Lucy. "Welcome to The Gym, my name is Geronimo. Do you want to join my crew of manly men?"

"No, we're here on Mr. Tweed's orders to look at the object you're selling," Lucy says exhausted.

"Oh, you're the here for the weights! You're a day early but it doesn't matter. A man must be prepared for anything! Come with me," Geronimo says as he hits his chest with his fist.

Lucy can help but feel that Geronimo is a lot like Elfman. They follow Geronimo to a group of various weights. Most of the weights are made of steel and range from two pounds to two-hundred pounds. But there is one pair of weights that are made out of a light color metal and look shinier than the others.

Geronimo puts the light colored weights on a bar bell and faces his guests. "These are my Hundred-in-One Weights. They are made of titanium that is imbedded with weight lacrima. You simply make a circular motion on the outside of the weights to your preferred weight. They can be altered to weigh any five pound increment between five pounds to five-hundred pounds. You have no need to ever get another set of weights for the rest of your life!"

"So you can lift fifty pounds but you can't lift forty-eight pounds?" Lucy asks.

"Yes! Be a man and try them out!" Geronimo yells as he fists pumps the air. Yep, definitively another Elfman.

Lucy and Laxus look at one another. She shakes her head and puts her hands on her hips, "Ohhhh no, don't look at me. I'm not the weight lifter here." Lucy pokes Laxus' thick muscular arm, "You're lifting them."

Laxus hmphs at her before going to stand in front of the barbell. Lucy stands facing him to make sure that he can work with the restrictions of the handcuffs. He grabs the bar and easily pulls up weights. She raises her wrist with his to make sure that the handcuffs don't yank on either of their arms.

Geronimo increases the weight and instructs Laxus to try again. He grips the bar and pulls up on the bar. It requires him to use a little more effort than the first time but he has lifted heavier in the past.

Geronimo grins as he drastically increases the weights and urges Laxus to try one more time. Laxus huffs out of his nose as he tries to lift the _much_ heavier weights. He has the bar halfway up when…

 _SNAP!_

The barbell snaps at the ends and springs forward from the weights breaking off the ends. It goes straight and hits Laxus in the mouth with a sickening crack. Laxus immediately drops the bar on top of Lucy's foot.

"Mmmmmm!" Laxus growls in pain as he clamps his hand over his injured mouth.

"Owwww!" Lucy hisses through gritted teeth as she hops on one foot while holding the other in pain.

Geronimo rushes over and frantically waves around his arms in a panic. "Oh my god! Are you guys okay?!"

"Does it look like we're okay?!" Lucy yells at the man in underwear while Laxus shakes his head and continues to moan in agony. She gently places her foot on the ground and winces at the pain. She looks up at Laxus and sees blood leaking through his fingers. Naturally, she freaks out. Both her and Geronimo demand that Laxus show them his mouth.

Laxus gets a thoughtful look on his face as he listens to Lucy rant and panic. He leans over and spits out a wad of blood into his hand. He uses his other hand to search through the blood and pulls out two little hard pieces. More blood drips from Laxus' face as he stays leaned over to look at what he found. _Oh fuck no…_

Lucy goes from panicked to distraught in a split second when she sees the amount of blood Laxus spat out. She yells at Geronimo to get clean bandages, water, and alcohol. The good thing about being in the same team as Wendy is that you pick up a few things here and there.

Not arguing with the petite female, Geronimo rushes off to find what he is told to retrieve.

Lucy maneuvers Laxus to one of the benches and pulls his head up to have a better look. His top lip has a huge gash and blood is pouring out of his lip and mouth.

Laxus holds up his findings to show them to her. When she sees them, her eyes go wide and she stares at them before telling him to open his mouth. He hesitantly does as he is told and their worst fear is confirmed.

Laxus' two front teeth have be broken and knocked out.

"Oh…Laxus…" she says as she gentle pulls his upper lip up to look at the gaping hole. Both teeth have been broken about three-quarters of the way up and create a straight line across the bottom. Blood drips from where the blood vessels were and is where most of the blood is coming from.

Geronimo comes back with an armful of first aid equipment and drops it next to Lucy. She takes the broken teeth and sets them aside to focus on the more pressing issue at the moment: his bleeding mouth.

She stuffs a wad of cotton balls into the gap between his teeth to help stop the blood flow. Dabbing his lip clean with cotton balls, she sanitizes it and applies an ointment that will help protect the wound until they can get to Wendy. Going back to the gap where his teeth used to be, she replaces the bloody cotton balls with clean ones until the blood flow stops. Laxus mumbles a thank you through his swollen mouth.

Looking over at his teeth, she washes each one off before putting them in her pocket. She looks over to see him giving her a weird look. "I'm not totally sure but Wendy might be able to fix your teeth. We might as well try," she says defensively.

He gives her a simple nod and mouths another thank you. She gives him a reassuring smile and tells him that it is no big deal. She washes her hands from the blood and saliva before returning the medical equipment back to Geronimo.

A little while later, Lucy closes the deal with Geronimo as Laxus examines the spot that is supposed to have teeth in it. _You have got to be fucking kidding me…I look like a retarded backwards beaver!_ Laxus thinks as he looks in the mirror.

Geronimo apologizes a dozen times in a row for the barbell breaking. If he had known about the fracture in the metal then he would have never asked Laxus to touch the thing. Lucy tells him that it's okay but to check his equipment more often.

They agree that Mr. Tweed will buy the weights and Lucy asks for directions to the train station. Geronimo gives them the directions before seeing them off with a final goodbye and apology.

As they walk through town Lucy asks how Laxus is feeling.

"I'm fine," Laxus says begrudgingly as his lips move to show his missing teeth.

"Are you sure? You did just get your teeth knocked out."

"I said I'm fine."

"Okay…"

"Hey! Stop you two!" A loud demanding voice calls out to the Fairy Tail mages. They turn to the left to see a group of Rune Knights heading towards them.

"Is something wrong?" Lucy hesitates when the Knights get closer.

"You are both under arrest by the city of Raell. We are here to take you into custody," the leader of the Rune Knights proclaims.

Lucy steps back aghast, "On what charges?!"

"Theft and assault. We received a report today saying that a tall blonde man with a scar and missing teeth stole a carriage this morning. He also had a smaller accomplice working with him as well. Since the two of you fit this description, we are taking you to the jail for questioning."

Lucy and Laxus gape at the Knights. The Knights are talking about the whole incident that happened this morning. The very same one in which _they_ got kidnapped!

"But he just got injured less than ten minutes ago! He wasn't missing any teeth when that farmer got his carriage stolen!"

The leader narrowed his eyes at Lucy, "How did you know he was a farmer?"

Lucy freezes. "Well we were in the back when it happened. He had a lot of farmer equipment in his cart."

"If you were in the back, why didn't you try and help stop the thieves?"

"We didn't know it was happening! I was reading and he," Lucy points to Laxus, "was sleeping. We got caught up in a mudslide and had been walking in the rain so we were tired and we weren't paying attention."

"Why were you in a mudslide?"

"Because we were walking on the road at night when the ground gave way under us and we tumbled down the hill."

"Why were you walking in the rain in the middle of the night?"

"Because we overslept on a train, missed our stop, and then had to walk to Raell to see our selle- Why does it matter?! We're innocent!"

"I'll be the judge of that. Restrain them!" the leader of the Rune Knights yells at his subordinates.

Lucy yelps as she pulls Laxus with all of her might and runs down the street. The Rune Knights give chase as the two blondes weave in and out of the crowd.

"What are we doing?" Laxus asks as he looks behind him and Lucy to the following men.

"If there is one thing I have learned from working with Natsu, it is how to outrun the army," Lucy says as she takes a sharp turn down a small alleyway.

Laxus gives a deep chuckle at Lucy's answer and follows her lead. Apparently, she has a lot more experience escaping the law then he does. Even if she had to learn second-handedly from Natsu.

They maneuver through small and big streets to escape the Rune Knights. They lose the army after they backtrack and let the Knights run past them. They carefully stay out of sight as they head towards the train station to get out of town.

Once they reach the platform the Knights close back in on them. They run along a moving train with the Knights right behind them. The Rune Knights reach out and almost grasp Laxus' coat on Lucy's little body but trip at the last second. They fall over one another and skid along the ground. Laxus grabs Lucy with his free arm and jumps onto the last boarding stairs as the train pulls out of the station. Laxus immediately falls over and starts grasping his stomach in agony.

Lucy watches as the train station gets smaller and smaller in the distance and frowns. _Great, just great. Now we are on the back of a train and we have no idea where we are going. And to make matters worse, I can't go inside to ask anyone because I am currently attached to a very sickly mountain of muscles that I can't budge._

She turns to her sick companion to see him as green as a frog and gripping the banister so hard that it has bent under the stress. Giving him a small smile, she goes and sits down beside him and puts his head in her lap. Laxus' face turns back to its natural color and he quickly falls asleep.

Lucy pulls Laxus' coat tighter around her body to keep from getting cold. She looks out at the passing scenery with her hair whipping from side to side as she waits for the train to stop.

* * *

"You should have tried to wake me up," Laxus says with irritation. He keeps trying to cross his arms as they walk in the town of Koda but he keeps dragging Lucy's arm up and preventing him from doing so every time.

"It's not my fault that you're too heavy to move," Lucy quips back. Laxus has been on her case ever since he realized that they sat on the outside of the train for three hours. By some miracle, they somehow wound up in one of the towns where one of their next sellers lives. Unfortunately though her book accidently fell off of the train during the ride and she had nothing to help pass the time. She was cold, bored, and having to take care of a sick dragon slayer for three hours. If anyone can complain it's her.

"That doesn't mean that you couldn't have tried to wake me up."

"Even if I did try, you wouldn't have woken up. It would have just been wasted effort."

"You still could have tried."

"Just let it go, will you?"

"No, not until you learn to _not_ sit on the outside of trains."

"Alright, alright. I'll try to wake you up next time that we have to sit on the outside of a train because we were running away from the Rune Knights that were chasing us because you look like the bandit that kidnapped us."

Laxus gives her a cold glare but doesn't respond and Lucy chuckles at her small victory.

A loud rumbling noise is heard from their stomachs and they both turn to look at one another.

"I guess we should get something to eat. The last time we ate was at that bar a day and a half ago." Lucy says. So much has happened between now and then that they must have forgotten to eat.

"How? We lost all of our money so we can't buy any food," Laxus replies blandly.

Lucy's mouth drops as she remembers that crucial detail. She slumps her shoulder and head in complete dejection. "My money…Come on, let's just go check out the next seller," Lucy says as she starts to slowly walk down the road.

"How many is left?" Laxus asks as he looks down at the saddened Lucy.

"Two more items, from two more sellers. All we have to do is go visit the guy here and then head to Armonk for the last seller. Then we can go back to Mr. Tweed for our reward. Do you think they'll see us without an appointment?"

Laxus nods his head while keeping his eyes on the road. _I'm so glad this trip is almost finished,_ he cheers to himself with an outward smirk.

"What's even better is that we only have fourteen hours left of this 'bad luck'."

"Really?"

"Yeah. If it lasts for three days and we rolled the dice at 7 a.m. on Wednesday and it's 5 p.m. on Friday right now, then we only have fourteen hours left."

"Thank fucking god," Laxus says with a frown. Lucy smiles at his change in mood; she can tell that he's secretly happy but doesn't want to show it.

They walk through the small town until they come to a small dirt road leading up to a very small house near the woods. The house is made out of some sort of clay and looks to have only one room inside. A small window is next to the front door and has small shutters on it.

Next to the house though is the main attention getter. There is a big round dirt area that is surrounded by wooden fencing. A man in armor is in the middle of ring swinging a sword.

"Excuse me? Are you Mr. Nagla?" Lucy calls out to the man from the fence.

"Hmmm? Can I help you?" the armored man yells back.

"We're here to look at the item your selling on behalf of Mr. Tweed."

Mr. Nagla is taken aback at the appearance of the two blondes and he stomps up to them with anger in his eyes. "Where is Tweed?" he outright demands.

"An injury stopped him from attending this meeting himself. We," Lucy gestures between her and Laxus, "were hired to inspect the object instead."

Mr. Nagla looks at the ground shaking his head and mumbles, "No. No, this can't be happening."

Lucy grows concerned at the distraught man. "Um, are you alright?"

Mr. Nagla continues to look at the ground and shake his head as he mumbles. He shoots his head up to look Lucy in the eye. "You! You work for Tweed, right?!"

Lucy takes a step back from his intense glare. "Um, uh, yeah. Yeah, currently. Why?"

The armored man's eyes turn murderous. "You'll have to do."

Mr. Nagla grips his sword tighter and he spreads his legs to gain better leverage. He sends one final death glare at a confused Lucy before starting to swing his sword up and to the right.

Lucy gasps as she sees the blade swinging toward her. Seeing the blade coming at an angle, she does a quick sidestep to the right to dodge the sword. She barely manages to move her body out of the pathway as the sword swings past her. Unlucky for her though, she did not move fast enough to maneuver her left ponytail out of the way. The sword makes a clean slice through her mud stained blonde locks and half of her hair drops onto the ground next to her feet.

Laxus effortlessly moves in front of Lucy as he concentrates his lightning into his right fist. Before Mr. Nagla has any time to counter, Laxus punches him on the left side of the head with a sickening crunch. The punch vastly overpowers the armored mage and crushes him into the ground. After the dust from the sudden impact clears from the air, a bleeding man is lying unconscious on the ground with a large blonde man protecting a petite blonde woman next to him.

"Are you alright?" The lightning dragon slayer speaks to Lucy while glaring at Mr. Nagla's body.

Lucy does a quick once over to make sure everything is in place. That is when she notices the loose strands of hair on the left side of her head. She unconsciously reaches up and touches the shortened ends. Realization dawns on her and she can't stop herself from freaking out.

"My hair! The bastard cut my hair!" Lucy wails as she grabs onto her short hair. She looks down to find the ponytail full of hair on the ground. Big exaggerated tears roll down her face as she picks it up and holds it in front of her.

Laxus winces at the loud shriek and spins around, only to sweatdrop at a dramatically sobbing, mud-stained, chopped hair Lucy. "Is anything else cut?" he asks.

She shakes her head before she slumps her shoulders in depression. _My hair…_

"It's just hair, it'll grow back out." he says in an attempt to make her feel better. _She better be glad it was only her hair._

She looks up at him with raised eyebrows and a sad frown. _He's right. He had his teeth knocked out earlier and he didn't complain so I shouldn't be complaining about this. Besides, I can just have Cancer fix it when I get my keys back._ Heaving a heavy sigh, she straightens up and drops her cut hair on the ground. "Sorry. Thanks for helping me…again," she says as she looks away embarrassed.

"Don't mention it." Laxus says with a shrug.

She slightly nods her head and moves around him to lean over Mr. Nagla's unmoving body. "Did you kill him?" she asks.

"Should I have?" he asks with a hint a contempt.

Lucy gives the large man a frown before looking back at Mr. Nagla. A small pool of blood has spread around his head where Laxus hit him. Pity fills her heart for the poor man even if he did try to hurt her and cut her hair.

"We should take him to the police and tell them what happened," Lucy says as she straightens up.

Laxus nods and grabs the knocked out man around the collar to drag him back to town. Blood drips from his wound as Mr. Nagla's body makes a continuous dirt track in the road.

Lucy looks down at the man with sympathy along the way. "Why do you think he attacked me?"

"He's crazy," Laxus says with indifference.

"He seemed really angry though. Do you think he actually wanted to hurt Mr. Tweed?"

"Who knows."

"But what did Mr. Tweed do?"

"It doesn't matter."

"Aren't you at least a little bit curious?"

"No."

Lucy frowns at Laxus' cold demeanor but doesn't try to continue the conversation. This is the side that she has grown familiar with when they were becoming friends during the previous months but that doesn't mean that she has to like it. Especially, since she has gotten to at least a glance at the happier part of him. It won't kill him to feel a little sympathy for the man whom he is dragging.

They continue the walk to town in silence. The only noise made is the birds chirping and dirt crunching under their footsteps. Eventually, they reach the local police department and turn Mr. Nagla over to the policeman.

"Well let's get going to the train station. We gotta find out when the next train is Armonk is leaving," Lucy says toward Laxus with a smile.

"Sorry kid, there are no trains running today," the policeman says.

"And why not?" Lucy drawls out.

"Transit strike. No moving vehicle is operating right now. Trains, carriages, and any magic vehicles are off limits to any visitors."

"Seriously?"

"Yep, sorry kid."

Lucy frowns at the policeman and turns to Laxus with a huff, "What do you want to do?"

"Walk," he says simply.

"I thought you were going to say that…" She says as she hangs her head in dejection. She is _really_ not a fan of walking. "Which way is it to Armonk?" Lucy asks the policeman in a depressed voice.

The policeman gives the mages their directions and sends them on their way.

Armonk is a city to the north and is six hours away when traveling on foot. So the Fairy Tail mages start on their trek along the road. Fortunately, it is still day time when they start their journey. _Un_ fortunately, it's late in the afternoon and it will almost be midnight when they reach their destination.

* * *

Halfway through their trip, Laxus is yanking a tired Lucy along the road.

"Laxus…can't we take a break? My feet are killing me," she whines.

He abruptly stops in his tracks which accidently causes Lucy to crash straight into his back.

"Oh thank yo-"

Laxus holds out his right hand and sends a sharp, small lightning bolt flying into the dense forest. It flies through the trees like a thread of golden silk weaving into a lush green fabric. A small squeal of pain is heard not a few seconds later before the forest grows quiet once more.

Lucy doesn't move a muscle or make a sound and only looks with wide eyes between where the noise was and where Laxus stands. He turns toward her with an indifferent look and with the most nonchalant voice says, "Dinner."

Her lips form in a 'O' shape as he pulls her toward the underbrush of the trees. A deer lies on its side with a black scorch mark on its left shoulder not too far inside the woods.

"What did you do exactly?" Lucy wonders as she chews on the side of her finger in worry.

"I shocked it so that its heart would stop. It died after a few seconds," Laxus replies matter-of-factly.

"Oh good, I'm glad it didn't have to suffer," Lucy says with a small sigh.

"Let's hurry up and get this thing cooking. The sooner we get moving again, the sooner we get to Armonk," Laxus says.

Lucy flat out refuses to touch the deer until it is ready to cook and Laxus refuses to do any of the cooking. They agree to do the parts that the other doesn't want to and they set out getting everything prepared for their dinner. They gather firewood, light the fire, and make a spit.

Laxus skins, guts, and cuts the deer while Lucy prepares everything for cooking.

Eventually, the deer is roasting on the spit as Lucy keeps careful watch over it. Laxus is relaxing on the side as he patiently waits for his dinner.

As soon as the venison is finished she hands him a large piece of the meat and sits down next to him with her own piece. He begins to champ down on his piece and hardly has time to take a breath in between bites.

"Sorry it's so bland. I didn't have any spices or anything to make it taste better," Lucy says with lopsided grin.

"It's fine, at least we get to eat something," Laxus says before taking another bite out of his piece of meat. In truth, he is really enjoying the deer. Even without the extra flavorings, Lucy cooked the meat perfectly and it's really juicy. Her regular food must be _amazing_ if she thinks that this is tasteless.

Lucy nods her head and takes smaller bites out of her own. They eat in comfortable silence except for the smacking of Laxus' lips and the occasional giggle for Lucy.

A breeze passes through the trees and makes the leaves rustle. The fire flickers with the brush of wind and sends gray ashes into the air. The chill finally gets to Laxus and he unconsciously shivers for a moment.

Lucy hands over Laxus' coat to him and goes back to her venison. He raises his eyebrow at her but before he can question her action she stops him.

"You're cold and I've been hogging your coat all day. It's time that you wear it," she says without looking at him.

He says nothing and throws the coat over his wide shoulders. It is a form of a silent thank you when he did as he was told without argument. They continue their dinner until the whole deer is gone and both blondes are stuffed.

"Well let's get moving," Laxus says as he stands up and stretches his cramped muscles.

Yawning, Lucy nods her head as she stretches as well. They put the fire out and throw the bones of the deer off the side before walking back to the road.


	12. Chapter 12

**I just want to say thank you for all of the reviews. You guys have no idea how happy they make me and I love all of you for the support.**

 **Hiro Mashima owns Fairy Tail and all corresponding characters. I only own the extra characters and plot.**

Three hours later Lucy and Laxus are nearing Armonk and see a large gypsy camp set up on the outside of the town. Lucy suggests asking them if they have heard of their client.

Big red tents with swirls and different patterns sewn into the fabric are littered along the ground around a big bonfire. A multitude of people go in and out of the tents and are talking, dancing, or playing music. At the edge of the camp, lies a large carriage with ornaments and décor on the outside. Despite the time of night, a gaudily dressed woman is helping a man with a cigar in his mouth unharness the horses that are restrained by the carriage.

They walk up and Lucy addresses the couple, "Excuse us? Is this the way to Armonk?"

The man raises his eyebrow as he puffs smoke out of his nose while the woman turns around and answers in a heavily elaborated voice, "Yes. And why must you be looking for the town of Armonk?"

"We're looking for," Lucy pulls out the list with the sellers, "a Madame Tiena Cvetkovic. We know that she is somewhere near Armonk."

The woman's eyes widen and they gain a glint of prospect. She raises her arms wide and toward the air as she speaks in the same exaggerated voice, "I am Madame Tiena Cvetkovic! The Seer of the Night!" She leans the top part of her body to the side and gestures to the man with the cigar, "This is my husband, Stochelo."

Lucy clears her throat and speaks with a smile, "I'm Lucy and this is Laxus. It's nice to meet you. We are here on behalf on Mr. Tweed to examine the crystal ball you have for sale. We know it's terribly late but would you mind showing it to us?"

"No, not at all. Please, follow me," the Madame speaks as she takes heavy and obviously-trying-to-hard-to-be-graceful steps toward the back of the carriage where a small door is located. Lucy and Laxus look at one another in slight disbelief before following after the exuberant woman.

The inside of the carriage is medium sized and has two rooms. The main room has a table in the middle, three chairs, two side tables in the front, a small chandelier, a small dresser with china inside, two small open windows, a carpet, multiple loose elaborate ornaments, and an array of pillows on one side. Lucy figures that the pillows must be where Madame Cvetkovic and Stochelo sleep at night. On the other end of the carriage, separated by a thick red curtain is the small kitchen with pots, pans, food, and vials of spices.

Lucy and Laxus take a seat in two of the chairs on the side of the table closer to the door. The Madame sashays over to the cabinet and pulls out a wooden box and brings it to the table. She pulls a perfectly see through ball and puts it on top of the metal holder in the middle of the table. She carefully takes a seat opposite of Lucy and Laxus and splays her arms and fingers over the table.

"Can you tell us the history behind the ball and how it works?" Lucy asks as she eyes the clear sphere.

"This has been in my family for seven generations. All of the women have been able to foresee the future using this tool of foresight. We have withheld this tremendous power for too long and it must be shared with the world. The ways of obtaining magical knowledge is simple. I contact a deceased spirit and that spirit comes to me through this ball. Spirits, or ghosts as you may call them, are a part of the spiritual world and are connected to the flow of time. This ball acts as a medium for a spirit to come and tell me what they have seen in regards to their loved ones."

Lucy nods her head and waits for her to continue. When the fortune teller remains silent Lucy looks at her confused. "That's it?" she asks with raised eyebrows.

"There is not much else left to say. Now, shall we begin?"

Lucy chews on her bottom lip in thought at the seer's words. _Her explanation of how the ball works and its history are so vague; especially if her family has had it for seven generations. I can't help but get the feeling that this whole setup is just a huge farce._

"I need to ask you the both of you some question so I can connect with the spirits that are attached to you. They will confide in me what your future is and I will recite their words onto you."

An idea pops into Lucy's head and she decides to follow through with it.

"What is your relationship?" Madame Cvetkovic asks as she intertwines her fingers.

Laxus opens his mouth but Lucy hastily interjects, "We're siblings." Laxus raises his eyebrows and his mouth drops open as he stares at her stunned. "He's my older brother," she says with a smile.

"I see…I thought you were related. You look so much alike," Madame Cvetkovic says with great certainty.

Lucy's lips press into a straight line at her gullibility and Laxus looks at her dumbfounded. _There is no way in hell that we look alike!_ he swears to himself.

Lucy leans toward Laxus and whispers in his ear, "If the crystal ball is real then it should tell her that we are lying about being related. Otherwise, she is making everything up and the ball is a fake." Laxus nods his head and silently commends her on her observation.

"Have either of you lost anyone dear as of late? Someone who I can establish a connection with from the other side?"

"Our mother passed away about a year ago. We were very close to her," Lucy says with sad smile. Laxus looks down at the celestial mage and can't help but feel like there is some truth in Lucy's words.

"What was her name?"

"Layla Dreyar."

"I see. I am going to try to reach out to her and see if she will answer me from the other side." Madame Cvetkovic reaches out her hands to the two blondes. "Please join hands with me and close your eyes," she says as her eyes roll back.

Lucy and Laxus look at one skeptically before slowly grabbing one of her hands and each other's but neither closes their eyes.

"Layla Dreyar…Layla Dreyar…Layla Dreyar do you hear me? I have your children Laxus and Lucy with me. They wish to know their futures." Madame Cvetkovic chants.

The curtain to the open window gently starts to flow as if an invisible gust of wind suddenly blows through the window.

The crystal ball emits a faint white smoke inside of it to create the appearance of fog inside of the glass. Madame Cvetkovic leans over to closely inspect whatever she sees inside the fog. "Your mother is here. She has come to tell us of what she has seen of the future," she says as she stares into the ball.

Lucy and Laxus glance at each other out of the corner of their eyes and give each other a knowing look.

"She wishes to start with her eldest. Laxus…she says that you will become a great man. You will be worth a valuable sum one day after much hard work. You will run the family business and make it into an empire until you retire and pass it on to your grandson to continue. That is the future that your mother has seen for you," Madame Cvetkovic says as she puffs out her chest. She begins to look deeper into the crystal ball as she continues her "investigation".

Laxus has to contain his scoff. Everything about this woman screams bullshit and he has to restrain himself from just calling her out on it and getting this whole thing over with. Not to mention that he _really_ doesn't want to be cramped up in this carriage. It's too gaudy for his tastes.

Looking to the side, Laxus can see a clear thread extending from a small hole in the bottom of the curtain, down the wall, and through a seam in floorboard. The other end threads through a crack in the window and goes somewhere outside. The other thing that catches Laxus' attention is the smell of cigar smoke that seems to be coming from directly outside the window. Laxus frowns at his discovery and gently yanks on his and Lucy's combined hands. She looks up at him inquisitively and he gestures toward the string. It takes her a minute but when she finally sees it she deadpans at the incredible lack of stealth that these people possess. Who the hell ties a string to a curtain in plain daylight?

Madame Cvetkovic's voice startles her and pulls her attention back to the woman. "Your mother says that she has seen you, Lucy, with a man. A handsome man. One with good virtues and quite a bit of money. You and this man are happy together. He takes good care of you and loves you with all of his heart. That is the future that she has seen for you."

Lucy purses her lips together in thought, "Is she happy for our dad? He is getting remarried in two months. His name is Ivan Dreyar." If this question is answered then there is absolutely no doubt that the gypsy is lying.

Laxus scowls at Lucy's question and implied scenario. There is no way in hell that he could ever imagine his pops getting remarried. In fact, he would have needed to be married for a _first_ time in order to get _remarried_.

Madame Cvetkovic looks deeply into the glass before looking back up and nodding her head. "She is very happy for him. She wants him to be happy and she believes that his new bride will make him that way."

Laxus scoffs at the woman and looks away disgusted from the turn of the conversation. The last thing he wants to think about at _any_ moment in the day is his shitty deadbeat dad.

Deciding that this whole scheme has gone on far enough, Laxus suddenly stands up and steps toward the window. Lucy gets dragged across his chair as he burst the shutters open. He reaches down the outside of the carriage and pulls a squirming Stochelo through the window to throw him onto the table.

Madame Cvetkovic jumps out of her chair and her eyes widen in surprise when she sees her husband being tossed around so nonchalantly. "What do you think you are doing?!" she yells as she cradles her husband's head.

"Pulling out a rat from under the floorboards. We know that you two are running a con," Laxus says in a cold voice.

"What? How did you know?" she asks startled.

"It was a lot of different factors but the clear string," Laxus reaches over and pulls the string taut until it snaps and holds it up for everyone to see, "and the smell of cigar smoke were two of the dead giveaways."

"The other thing was that we knew you didn't see our mother in the ball because we are not related. If you were telling the truth then no spirit would have come or you would have been told that we were lying all along," Lucy says.

Madame Cvetkovic and Stochelo gawk at the two blondes in pure shock. "How dare you! You lied to me from the beginning!" she hisses at Lucy.

"You lied through the whole thing too so don't go getting all high and mighty," Lucy retorts.

The two women glare at one another in a test of will. Madame Cvetkovic can't hold out against Lucy and she turns away with a pout.

A loud yelling is heard outside the carriage and everyone inside instantly shuts up and listens. Lucy moves to look out the window and her mouth drops open at what she witnesses.

Men with pitchforks and torches come parading through the woods and start to harass and threaten the campers. They demand that the outsiders leave their town while waving their torches above their heads.

"There are rioters out there! They must have come to drive off everyone inside the camp!" Lucy says with worry as she watches the men from town start chasing around the strangers. Madame Cvetkovic gasps and covers her mouth with her hand.

The horses start to fret at the commotion that the rioters are causing. A man with a torch gets too close to the horses and they become terrified. Trying to save themselves from the danger, the horses take off with the carriage. It bumps and runs into and over trees, bushes, roots, and branches as it speeds through the forest.

All of the four passengers go from sitting, lying, or standing in one place to being tossed around the carriage as it weaves through the forest.

The handcuffed mages tumble backwards over the chairs as the carriage juts forward. Lucy is about to ask Laxus if he can stop the runaway carriage but sadly realizes that he is heaved over from motion sickness and is completely useless. Madame Cvetkovic and Stochelo flop over the table onto the floor and overturn the table.

A sudden jerk to the right sends everyone and everyone not against the wall sliding along the floor and into the said wall. By some miracle, Laxus barely misses pinning Lucy to the wall…but the sliding side table hits her perfectly in the chest.

The cart tips to the left side and everyone and everything slides to the other wall. The dresser tips over and slides between a panicking Madame Cvetkovic and Stochelo. Lucy lands directly on top of Laxus as a chair hits her in the back. She can see the lightning slayers face turning greener by the second.

A big bump in the groung tosses the carriage into the air before crashing back down. Somehow she and Laxus switch positions in the fall. She doesn't have time to think about it for long before she is slammed against a wall again. Out of the corner of her she sees that the pots, pans, and spices have slide out of the kitchen and are now currently in the room with them. _Oh this is going to suck…_

This whole catastrophe continues for another ten minutes before the ropes to the carriage rip and the horse are released from their confines. As they run off into the forest, the carriage rides along the ground until it crashes into a tree. The front wall dents in and small branches poke through the thin wall.

The chandelier finally falls as groans and moans are heard around the carriage. Shattered glass is spread everywhere and on everyone. Feathers from the pillows fall through the air and a small breeze passes through the carriage from all of the holes in the walls.

On one side lie Madame Cvetkovic and Stochelo on top of flattened pillows, the table, and pieces of broken chairs. On the other side lies a tremendously sick dragon slayer lying face down in his puke and covered with spices from the kitchen. Right next to him, underneath the pots, pans, and chipped china pieces is Lucy.

"My eye…" Lucy moans as she slowly sits up. The pans that lie on top of her fall off to the side and reveal the beginning of what will be nasty bruises all over her body. She reaches up to cover her right eye with her hand. A stinging pain shoots through her face at the light touch and she can tell that she is going to have a black eye.

Crawling over to Laxus she pushes with all of her strength and an "umph" to roll him onto his side. The last thing she needs right now is for him to die from chocking on his own vomit. Looking at the poor man she can't help but feel the sorrier for him than herself. She calls out to him as she tries shaking him awake. Hope fills her chest as he moans but is quickly replaced by disgust and disappointment when he heaves up another wave of puke.

Knowing that he is nowhere near ready to entertain the idea of leaving the torn up carriage, Lucy starts wiping off as much of the spice residue off of his coat as she can. She gets most of it off but it definitely needs to be washed.

Stochelo and Madame Cvetkovic help each other up and look around at the destruction. She starts wailing about how all of her beloved things have been destroyed. Stochelo tries to calm his wife but it only sets to anger her.

"This might not be the best time but Mr. Tweed won't be buying your crystal ball," Lucy says hesitantly.

Madame Cvetkovic slowly turns and glares at Lucy with infuriation. She starts screaming at the blonde woman in another language. The horror on Stochelo's face is enough to convince Lucy that Madame Cvetkovic is swearing and cursing at her.

Lucy cringes as the fortune teller stomps outside and starts hitting her carriage as a way of venting.

Laxus gags several times over the next thirty minutes but doesn't hurl for a third time. Lucy waits patiently for him to start feeling stable enough to move around.

At last, Laxus sits up and puts his head between his knees. "Fucking hell…" he slurs miserably.

"Are you alright?" Lucy asks with worry as she places her hand on his bicep.

"Yeah…What's wrong with your eye?" Laxus asks as he looks at her.

"A pan hit me," Lucy whines.

He sees that her right eye is starting to swell shut. Upon closer inspection he can see that she has a multitude of the same kind bruises all over her body from all of the banging up she got on the carriage ride from hell. Along with half of her hair missing she looks like she just came out of a usual brawl at the guild.

"You look fucking awful," he says with a slight chuckle.

"Oh yeah, and you're a whole lot better Mr. Covered in Puke?" she asks sarcastically. He is in _no_ position to make fun of her.

Looking down he sees the vomit on his chest and on the floor. It doesn't take an idiot to figure out what he did and Laxus is no idiot. He pulls his arm away from Lucy as he faces away from her in embarrassment. It's been years since he's thrown up and now here he is sitting in it.

Sensing his embarrassment Lucy relents and changes the subject. "I already told them that we will not be taking the crystal ball. We can go report to Mr. Tweed now and then go get the handcuffs off. We should be home by the end of the day," she says with a smile.

He knows what she is trying to do and makes him grateful for it. "Yeah, sounds like a plan."

Lucy smiles at him again as she hands him a torn piece of cloth. Laxus wipes himself clean before standing up on weak knees.

"Where are we," Lucy wonders as they stagger outside. All she sees around her is trees, trees, and more trees. What makes matters worse is that everything is shrouded in the blackness of the night.

"Lost," Laxus replies. He can hear Madame Cvetkovic yelling at Stochelo to start cleaning everything up from the front of the carriage. A part of him feels pity for the man.

"Let's follow those. They should take us back to the camp," Lucy says as she points to the carriage wheel tracks in the dirt.

Laxus nods his head and takes the lead. It's no question that he has to lead the way because it is too dark for Lucy to see anything.

* * *

As soon as they make it back to the camp, they tell one of the other gypsies where to find Madame Cvetkovic and Stochelo. They immediately thank the duo and run into the forest to help the fortune teller and her husband.

Seeing that their work is finished, Lucy and Laxus walk into town to find the train station. It's four o'clock in the morning so there are no people on the streets and they feel immensely grateful for the lack of attention.

The train station is not hard to find and the only people there are the sleeping ticket salesman and the janitor.

They walk up to the ticket counter and Laxus bangs on the wood. The ticket salesman falls backwards out of his chair from the loud noise.

He pops his head up from behind the counter and looks in amazement at the two blondes.

"We would like two tickets for the next train to Fairmount please." Lucy says.

The ticket salesman nods his head before slowly processing the ordering and handing the tickets to the Lucy. She thanks him with a smile before leaving beside a grumpy Laxus.

She looks at the tickets and it says that the next train is scheduled to leave at six o'clock. They walk to the nearest bench and plop down on the wood. There is nothing to do now but wait for the next two hours. It doesn't bother them though; waiting is a lot better than walking.

* * *

Lucy and Laxus are the first on the train when it pulls into the station at a quarter till six. Since there are only five people who are taking the train, it is no surprise that they have a car to themselves. They take a seat in the middle and relax as they wait for the train to start moving.

Ten minutes after six the conductor comes over the intercom and announces why they haven't left yet. "I'm sorry for the delay folks but it seems our engine is having some technical issues. Please be patient with us as we will try to have the problem fixed as quickly as we can. Thank you."

"Well ain't that just fucking perfect," Laxus mumbles.

"They'll get it fixed. No later than seven o'clock is my bet," Lucy sighs.

"Why do you say that?"

"Cause that's when our bad luck ends. Remember?" she asks with a smile.

Laxus looks down at his lap in thought before nodding in agreement.

Lucy leans her head against Laxus' arm. "Thanks for being here Laxus," she says softly. She twists her head up to look at him with a gentle expression, "It really means a lot."

He looks down at the petite woman. "Why? I haven't done anything."

"But you have. You helped by just being you."

Laxus' eyes slightly widen in surprise before he turns his face away from her. A small blush crosses his cheeks as he grunts at her, "What do you mean?"

"You just made this whole experience possible. You were calm for most of the trip, didn't pick any unnecessary fights with anyone, didn't force me to go along with your plans, and stuck by me through it all. I really appreciate everything you did. I can't imagine doing this job with my team. Fiore probably would have been destroyed if we got cursed with bad luck for three days."

Laxus can't help but chuckle at that imagery. Although he imagines that more than likely the whole world would be destroyed. "Yeah, I can't imagine being stuck with the Thunder Legion either," he says as he looks back down at her.

She smiles up at the frowning man. "They can't be that bad."

"They are. Not as bad as your team but they have their moments. Bickslow and Evergreen will argue about anything and everything. It usually starts from Bickslow teasing Evergreen over something. Freed tries to keep the peace but he usually gets involved and then blows everything out of proportion."

"Especially when it's about you?" she asks with a hint of mirth in her voice and a grin.

Laxus heaves a deep sigh, "You have no idea…"

Lucy giggles and relaxes against his arm once more before closing her eyes in comfort. They sit in comfortable silence as they wait for the engineers to fix the train.

* * *

Lucy watches the clock above the door as the time starts to close in on seven o'clock.

She starts counting down the seconds in her head. _45 seconds…32 seconds…28 seconds…15…10…5, 4, 3, 2, 1…_

The messed up train engine magically turns over at precisely seven o'clock; the exact moment that their bad luck ends. It's not supposed to be funny but Lucy can't stop herself. She laughs at the ridiculous idea that everything they have gone through is all because of two little square dice.

* * *

Getting off of the train in Fairmount, Lucy and Laxus stride toward the mansion of their employer. The thought of ending this horrible, tedious, job hurries them along the road. Everyone who they pass looks at them in disbelief, shock, and bewilderment at their states.

Walking up the green hill, Lucy knocks on the doors to the mansion. The stoic butler answers the door and his eyes widen slightly.

 _Wow, we must look terrible if we got a reaction out of this guy,_ Lucy jokes to herself.

The butler quickly gestures them inside and to the antique room. He tells them that he will fetch Mr. Tweed right away and to not dirty up the carpet.

Lucy sticks her tongue at him when he shuts the door. She quickly looks at the glass case with the three celestial spirit keys in it before sitting down with Laxus on the same couch that they sat on four days earlier.

Mr. Tweed enters the room with his crutches. "I'm happy that you've ret-" he starts but stops when he lays his eyes on the two mages. He was not expecting any problems with the job yet these two look like they just came out of a tornado.

"It's a long story," Lucy sighs heavily. "But we finished your job and know which items are real."

Snapping out of his stupor, Mr. Tweed sits down on his couch. "Very well. Which ones am I to buy?"

"Before I begin there is something that you must know," Lucy says hesitantly. "We are currently wearing one of them," Lucy and Laxus hold up their combined wrists to showcase the handcuffs, "and won't be getting it off till later."

Mr. Murphy's eyebrows raise and he is about ask why they are wearing his potential buy but stops himself. The handcuffs look slightly worse for wear from everything that they had to endure during the trip over the three days and that has him worried. They might be hard to sale if they are not in mint condition and he would rather not risk his money. He straightens up and clears his throat. "It's alright. Now that I have had to opportunity to see them, you can tell Ms. Kitty that I am no longer interested in the handcuffs."

Lucy's eyes widen in surprise but she nods her head anyway and starts recounting which objects are magical. She leaves out the handcuffs due to him not wanting them, the crystal ball was a fake, and the weapon never existed. As Lucy told Mr. Tweed about Mr. Nagla, he has no emotion or sympathy for the armored man. He passes him off as a crazed man whom he has never heard of. Lucy and Laxus are taken aback by his complete apathy but it's not their place to question him.

"Very well. I will look into every object you told me about and make my offers. Your service is now complete and I thank you for your detailed findings," Mr. Tweed says as he waves his hand for the butler.

The man walks over to Laxus with a bundle of money and hands it to the lightning slayer.

"This is the payment for your services. Now, if you don't mind, I must attend to my business," Mr. Tweed dismisses his guests.

Without any argument, Lucy and Laxus rise from their couch. Now all they have to do is go get the handcuffs off and get home. Simple as pie.

Lucy stops as she passes the shiny keys. Every question that she held when she first saw them crashes to the front of her mind. She can't leave this house without knowing if these keys are being well taken care of.

Laxus looks back at Lucy with a raised eyebrow in a silent question. She steels herself and turns back toward the middle aged man. She wants answers and she is going to get them. "Mr. Tweed, may I ask you something?"

"If it doesn't take too long. I am busy man," Mr. Tweed says.

"Do those celestial keys," Lucy points to the small glass case, "have contracts with anyone?"

"Not that I'm aware of."

"So they're just part of your collection?"

"That's correct."

Lucy's fists clench together in rage, "How can you do that?!"

Mr. Tweed raises an eyebrow at the blonde girl. "Do what precisely?"

"There are living beings connected to those keys! You're making them prisoners!"

"That's not my concern. My concern is whether or not the physical object improves the appearance of my collection. Nothing more."

Lucy gasps at the man, "How can you be so heartless?!"

"Perhaps I am…but only to some. Now, are you finished?"

"No! I won't let you treat them this way! They deserve better than the likes of you! I will get them away from here and _you_!" she yells as she grounds her teeth together.

"And what do you plan to _do_ exactly?"

Lucy's mouth opens and closes as she tries to figure out what to say. "I don't know. But I swear I will find a way," she finally says with a glare.

Laxus' eyebrows rise in surprise at Lucy's outburst. He looks over at the small glass case to the objects in question. He has heard how loving and loyal she is to her spirits but he never thought that she would threaten someone over them.

Mr. Tweed intertwines his fingers together as he studies the furious blonde for many long minutes. "I'll make you a proposition then," he states finally. "I will sell each key to you."

Lucy goes from angry to shocked. "You will?"

"Yes, for a non-negotiable price of course."

Lucy glares at him again, "How much?"

Mr. Tweed gives her a wicked and cruel smile. "Two million jewel per key or five million for all three keys. Quite the deal," he says in a haughty, mocking voice.

Lucy and Laxus' eyes go wide and their jaws go slack at the amount he is demanding. Fury quickly replaces Lucy's stunned silence.

"That's utterly ridiculous! A silver key shouldn't cost more than five _thousand_ jewel!" she yells as her fists shake.

"Non-negotiable," Mr. Tweed snides. "Do we have a deal? Or are you just all bark and no bite?"

Lucy's lip quivers as she stares at the cold, calculating man. Tears threaten to fall any second but she fights to not let any show. There's no way she can afford to buy one key, better yet all three. She can barely pay her rent month to month with little to no savings. So where can she find five-million jewel?

As much as she despises Mr. Tweed, she has no choice but to leave the keys in his care. Not unless she tries to steal the keys from him. But that plan would more than likely cause her to go to jail for theft. Either way, she will not be allowed to help them.

Turning away from the man, she retreats as quickly as she can from the room. Laxus picks up on her desire to leave and immediately falls into step beside her. Mr. Tweed has a devilishly cruel smirk on his face as he watches them leave the room.

Lucy doesn't stop her half jog until she has left the mansion with Laxus by her side. She slows down to a walk. She never takes her eyes off of the road as they make their way to the train station.

Laxus buys two tickets to Springview and asks the salesman to bill Fairy Tail instead of taking cash. Usually that would be against company policy but seeing how pitiful the two customers are, the salesman couldn't bring himself to turn them down.

Lucy sits down next to Laxus and stares at her hands in cold silence as they wait for the train to exit the station. She feels so worthless. How can she let not one, not two, but three keys be abused like that? As a celestial mage she has a duty to the well-being of all celestial spirits. Not for her betterment but for theirs. They deserve to be just as happy as any other living being and she can't see the spirits being happy in that glass cage. _If there was only some way that I could make enough money…_

Laxus looks down at the petite blonde to see her with small tears rolling down her cheeks. His heart clenches for the woman and that need to make her feel better smashes itself to the forefront of his mind. "At least he's not physically hurting them," he says without looking at her.

Her fists tighten in her lap at his words. "It doesn't matter. He's still abusing them," she almost hisses at him.

"I'm just saying that it could be worse."

The celestial mage jerks her head up to glare at the lightning slayer. He is taken aback by the sheer anger and hurt in her eyes. "How would you like to be chained up?! To be put on display for everyone to judge?! To be held hostage because of your appearance and not have any of your emotions, thoughts, and wants taken into consideration?! How would that make you feel?!"

Laxus raises his eyebrows at her small outburst. He frowns at himself as her words sink in. _That would be fucking terrible. All of my life I have be able to do whatever I wanted, whenever I wanted. To lose my independence is…unimaginable. No one ever cared about my feelings on anything and people either judged me or ignored me all of my life. I hated it…I still do. It isn't fair and I know how horrid it is to be in that position. I wouldn't wish it on anyone. I always had the opportunity to prove everyone wrong but those keys don't have that luxury; they just have sit there and take whatever anyone says about them without any argument. Fuck that would be horrendous. I can see why she would want them so bad. She would never treat them that way._

"Sorry, I didn't think about it that way," he says while looking at the floor.

Lucy sees Laxus' downcast look and realizes what she did. She just yelled at the man who was trying to make her feel better and guilt fills her chest. "I'm-I'm sorry. I didn't mean to get angry at you. I just…" she trails off. "I just want to help them and I can't," she whispers. It was so quiet that if he wasn't sitting next to her, Laxus would have missed it. He heard the sorrow that heavily laced her words and his heart clenches further.

He tries to figure out what to do; anything to make the whole situation any less solemn and gloomy than it already is. He hates seeing her beat herself up for something she can't control. A very sudden idea pops into his mind and his head rises up in astonishment. _Why didn't I think of this earlier? That will make everything better…and I get dinner._ Satisfied with his solution, Laxus begins to list out the order of events to take place in his head. But that comes to a screeching halt the second the train starts to move.

An agonizing moan brings Lucy out of her self-reflection to the dragon slayer that is leaning against the arm rest. She sighs before carefully maneuvering Laxus to lie on her lap and runs her fingers through his hair as she looks out the window. Her thoughts immediately turn back to the three keys and ways that she can possibly save up enough money to buy them.

* * *

Four and a half hours later, Lucy has not come up with an idea. Every time she thought she was close to a solution, a small meddlesome detail would wedge itself into her plan and shatter everything to pieces. Eventually, she had to resign herself to the fact that there was nothing she could do; the keys will have to stay in Mr. Tweed's grubby, greedy, manipulative hands.

They find the town hall once again and follow the path between the two big buildings. Soon enough they arrive back in front of Ms. Kitty's Playtime. They knock on the door and walk into the familiar hallway. Everything is exactly as it was three days ago and that, in a very strange way, brings a slight bit of comfort to Lucy.

"Hello? Ms. Kitty? It's Lucy and Laxus! We're here to get the handcuffs off!" Lucy yells through the house.

"Hello sweeth-oh my goodness, you look terrible!" Ms. Kitty gasps with a hand over her breast when she walks into the hallway.

Lucy gives her an exasperated look and Laxus holds his perfectly stoic and bored look. "We feel even worse," Lucy says flatly.

Ms. Kitty gives them one final look over before ushering them into the side room. Laxus and Lucy sit on one of the couches while Ms. Kitty leaves to go get the key.

All around them sits dildos, whips, and anal beads and neither one of the blondes wants to acknowledge that they are in fact surrounded by dildos, whips, and anal beads…

The incredibly awkward situation is only worsened by Lucy's bad mood and Laxus' impatience with any form of waiting.

Fifteen long, annoying, and awkward minutes later, Ms. Kitty reappears with the destined metal object known as the key. The tense atmosphere greatly lightens as Ms. Kitty stands in front of her guests.

With a very delicate hand, she slides the key into the keyhole on Lucy's wrist. Lucy holds her breath as she watches Ms. Kitty turn the small item of fate. If the damn thing breaks again, there is no telling what she and Laxus are going to do.

The key effortlessly turns in the keyhole and with a pop, the handcuffs unlocks. Lucy's head falls back in relief and she exhales her deep breath. She can feel the lack of metal around her wrist and it is the greatest feeling that she has experienced in the past three days.

Laxus is next and the key removes his handcuffs as easily as it did Lucy. He smirks as he rubs his freed wrist.

"There, now that wasn't so painful," Ms. Kitty says with smile.

"Thank you," Lucy says with a small smile. Normally this kind of occasion would bring out one of her biggest smiles but her thoughts on the keys dampen her mood.

Ms. Kitty's tilts her head curiously and looks at Laxus for answers. He shakes his head to signal that it's nothing for her to worry about.

"Tweed said that he doesn't want your handcuffs. He will be taking your doll though," Laxus says.

"I see…" Ms. Kitty sighs. "Oh well, at least I get to sell my doll."

"Sorry but we need to be going," Laxus says as he stands up. He gestures to Lucy to do the same.

"Here, since you two went through so much trouble, why don't you take the handcuffs. No charge. It's the least I can do," Ms. Kitty says as she holds out the handcuffs. "Beside you never know when you might find a use for them."

Lucy carefully takes them along with the key. "Thank you but I highly doubt that," she replies curtly.

Ms. Kitty walks them to the door and bids the two ragged blondes goodbye as they walk down her steps.

At the bottom of the steps, Laxus opens up both arms and Lucy steps into his reach. She wraps her arms around his waist and waits for him to take her back to Magnolia. He charges his magical energy around their two bodies for a few seconds before they fly off into the sky.

Forty-five minutes later, they land outside the Fairy Tail guild hall. Lucy collapses onto the ground from motion sickness with Laxus looking over her. Deep breaths make the nausea subside and she is able to stand within a few minutes. Giving each other a weary glance, they open the guild doors to the loud gathering on the bottom floor.

As per tradition, everyone turns to welcome the newcomers but everyone freezes when they see the returning mages enter the guild. Master, Team Natsu, and the Thunder God tribe all gape in exaggerated horror at Laxus and Lucy.

Lucy has half of her hair cut off, a black eye, a huge tear down her shirt that is _barely_ being held together by three bobby pins, a missing boot, and a several large swollen bruises all over her body. Laxus is wearing his big fur lined coat with spice residue stuck to it, missing his entire shirt to show the cuts and bruises that cover his body, and has stained light brown pants that have the same cuts in them. Both blondes have light brown stains covering their hair and skin, bags under their eyes from lack of sleep, and wear deep set frowns across their faces. They look like hell.

"Not. A. Word," Lucy says slowly and harshly.

All eyes and ears are on Lucy and Laxus as they walk over to bar where Mira was in the middle of wiping a mug when she froze in shock at the appearance of her two favorite blondes.

"Did the train station send two bags here?" Lucy asks in her tired and irritable voice while Laxus sits down on one of the bar stools.

Mira stares wide eyed before Lucy calls out her name and brings her out of her trance. "Oh, um…ye-yeah. Let me get them," Mira says as she hurries to the back.

Lucy turns and scans the guild for the sky dragon slayer. Noticing her next to Levy, she calls the little girl over. Wendy walks up to her teammate awestruck, "Yes?"

"Wendy," Lucy starts as she reaches into her pocket and pulls out Laxus' teeth, "can you fix Laxus' teeth, cuts, and bruises? And then fix my bruises? Please?"

Wendy's eyes widen when she sees the two small white pieces and shoots her head up to look at Laxus. He pulls back his busted lip to show what is left of his two front teeth to the youngest slayer. Wendy gasps while Master and the Thunder God Tribe do a mixture of gasping, crying, yelling, and choking at the pathetic state of Laxus' mouth. Wendy nods her head and Laxus opens his mouth to let Wendy work.

Erza walks up to Lucy and Laxus and asks, "Lucy, what hap-"

"Erza, I don't want to talk about right now. I'll tell you tomorrow," Lucy cuts Erza off. Erza opens her mouth to retaliate but she sees Laxus' glare out of the corner of her eye and decides to drop the subject for now.

"Here you go. They came in this morning," Mira's voice calls out as she brings Lucy and Laxus' bags around the bar. She stops dead in her tracks and gapes when she sees Laxus' busted mouth. Lucy grabs her suitcase from the immobile Mira and waits on Laxus.

Wendy finishes with her healing and wiggles Laxus' teeth to see if they are firmly set. Lucy has to repress a laugh when she sees Wendy stick her fingers into Laxus' mouth to grab his teeth and pulls on them. Letting go of his teeth, she quickly gets to work on the many small injuries throughout his body. In no time, Laxus is as good as new. She moves over to Lucy and quickly erases any evidence that she ever had a black eye and bruises all over her body. Satisfied with her work, Wendy lets the older mages go.

Laxus stands up, grabs his bag, and walks with Lucy to the guild doors. As they are about to leave, Lucy turns around and announces to everyone in the guild in her most deathly serious voice, "If _anybody_ , and _I mean anybody_ , bothers us before tomorrow morning…there will be _hell_ to pay."

Nobody moves a muscle so Lucy and Laxus take that as a silent agreement. The two blondes turn around and leave the guild in its stunned state.

Laxus turns to Lucy once they are away from the guild. "I've got some things to do," he says gruffly. He flashes away in a strike of lightning before she can say or do anything.

She heaves a heavy sigh and makes her way back home. _He probably just wanted to go home. I don't blame him but he could have at least said goodbye._ _Oh well, a hot, steamy bath and getting my keys back will make me feel batter._

Laxus flashes to Magnolia Bank. He pulls a clean shirt over his head before he enters the building. Walking up to the teller, he says in a gruff voice and with his arms crossed, "I want to make a withdrawal."

Meanwhile, back at the guild, everyone is frozen until Freed stands up crying something about Laxus' honor and runs across the guild to catch up to him. Mira realizes his plan though and catches the rune mage before he reaches the doors. She changes into her Satan Soul and tosses him back into his teammates. The guild immediately goes into an uproar of questions, hysteria, and panic as they try to solve the "Laxus and Lucy Mystery".

Master commands all of his brats to shut up and heed Lucy's warning to stay away from her and Laxus until tomorrow morning. Several mages, particularly the Thunder God Tribe, Team Natsu, and Levy, vehemently protest about going and checking on their friends but Master and Mira quickly stomp out any and all opposition.

Team Natsu and Levy sulk back their tables and for the rest of the evening to mumble about how they should be helping Lucy and not sitting in the stupid guild. Damus whispers into Natsu's ear about how they are ignoring Lucy and that he doesn't need to see her anyway. This only makes Natsu turn into a puddle of depression though.

Freed takes Bickslow and Evergreen back to their table and instructs them on what they are going do when they go see Laxus and Lucy tomorrow. Usually, Evergreen and Bickslow wouldn't agree to this type of plan but seeing Laxus in such sorry shape earlier makes them want answers to why their leader was in such a state. After all, it could only be _her_ fault.

* * *

Lucy drops the towel from around her body and pulls on some comfortable clothes. It's been a couple of hours since her and Laxus got back from their job. After she paid her landlady, she went to soak in her wonderful bath. Now, all she has to do is to wait for Virgo to come by and deliver her keys. Then she can fall into her soft, comfy bed and sleep for a week.

A sparkling light appears beside her and Virgo appears out of thin air. "Welcome home Princess. I have come to return your keys," Virgo says as she holds up the gold and silver metal objects to her master.

Lucy gives her a grin and takes her beloved keys from the pink haired spirit. "Thank you Virgo, it really means a lot."

"Of course Princess. Is there anything else that you need assistance with?"

"No Virgo, nothing right now. Thanks again for holding on to them."

"Punishment?" Virgo says hopefully.

"No Virgo," Lucy sweatdrops.

Virgo gives a curt nod before poofing back to the Celestial Spirit World.

Lucy's smile fades as she looks down at her keys. Sadness and guilt covers her as she thinks about the three spirits that are trapped in Tweed's mansion. It's just not fair. If there is anything she could do…but there is nothing. She can't help them. She feels so worthless.

Lucy shakes her head to clear the tears and pulls out Cancer's key. It's a gold key with a crab like design at the tip and a shell design at the bottom. The celestial symbol is in the center of the bottom of the key. "Gate of the Crab, Cancer!"

A bright light shines at the end of the key and out pops Cancer.

Cancer looks like a hairdresser. His hair is black and braided in red cornrows that end in a shape that resembles crab's pincers. He has tan skin, thick lips, and wears green lensed sunglasses. He also wears a blue striped shirt and dark trousers with two aquamarine stripes each side and boots on his feet. There's a ring chain in the right pocket of his pants and a hairdresser's tool bag in the left side of his belt. He wears a golden necklace and always has his scissors. Six crab legs also appear from his back.

"What's up, baby?" Cancer says as he snips at the air with his scissors.

"Can you make my hair even again? Please?" Lucy asks.

"Sure baby." Cancer says as he walks around Lucy.

Cancer uses his magic to grow Lucy's hair and nimbly cuts it so that it is just past her shoulder blades and is even on both sides. Lucy looks in the mirror and a smile spreads across her face.

"Thanks Cancer, it looks perfect," she says as she smiles up at him.

"No problem, baby," Cancer says as he disappears back into the Spirit World.

Lucy checks her hair once more before sighing and placing her keys down on her desk next to the handcuffs. She makes a mental note that she'll have to buy a new belt tomorrow.

As she gets ready for bed, she hears a knock on her door a minute later. A frown spreads across her face. _I told them no visitors!_ She stomps over to the door and rips it open to yell at whatever idiot is stupid enough to bother her after she warned them but stops when she sees Laxus.

"Oh Laxus, it's you," Lucy says surprised. She thought he went home. So why is he here?

"You busy?" he asks with his regular gruff voice and apathetic look.

"Um, no. Just getting ready for bed. Why?"

"I need to talk to you. It will just take a minute."

"Sure, come in," Lucy says as she steps aside for him.

Laxus walks in and looks around the small apartment. He has never been in her apartment so this is the first time he's seen it. It's nice but it's too…pink, for his taste. He notices how her hair is fixed and her keys on the desk on the far side of the room. _Seems that was the best idea of the whole goddamn trip…_

"So, what's up?" Lucy says as she comes to stand in front of him. It dawns on her how out of place Laxus seems in her small apartment and how it's almost comical.

Laxus puts his hand in his coat pocket and pulls out a small black velvet box. "Here," he says as he hands it to her.

Lucy looks down at the box surprised and hesitantly takes it, "What is this?"

"Just open it."

She opens the lid and loudly shrieks before covering her mouth with her hand. She starts shaking as she looks down at the contents of the box.

Inside sits three silver celestial gate keys: Hercules, Draco, and Dorado.

She looks up with wide brown eyes to gaze into deep green ones. "H-how?" she asks with her voice shaking as badly as her body.

"I went back and bought them," Laxus answers simply.

"W-why?"

"You acted like you really wanted them."

"You paid the whole five million jewel? With your own money?"

"Yeah."

Lucy has to force herself to stop shaking, "…I can't accept these. There's no way I can begin to pay you back…"

"You don't have to pay me back."

Lucy fervently shakes her head, "No! I need to repay you-"

"You're not going to let this go, are you?" Laxus asks as he narrows his eyes at her.

Lucy shakes her head and one side of Laxus' mouth lifts into a smirk, "Alright. Cook me dinner for a week and we'll call it even." Ever since he had that deer she cooked in the forest, he has been craving her delicious cooking.

Lucy gapes at the man in front of her, "Bu-but the money…"

"I can take a single S-class job and instantly get my money back. Quit worrying about it and just make me some good dinners," he says nonchalantly.

Lucy tries to wrap her mind around what Laxus is telling her. He went back and bought three silver gate keys for five million jewel because she wanted them and all she has to do to make it up to him is to cook him dinner for a week? She looks down at the box in her hands with the three beautiful keys inside. Tears start to fall as happiness overwhelms her.

Laxus watches the woman who he has spent the last four days with stare down at her new gift. She starts to shake again as he hears sobs and sees tears fall. His face drops and he outstretches his arms in slight panic. _What is she doing?! She's not supposed to be crying! She's supposed to be hap-_

Lucy lunges forward and wraps her arms around Laxus' neck. She pulls her body taunt against his in the tightest hug her arms can manage while still holding onto the box.

He stiffens when he has feels her grab onto him but relaxes slightly after a few seconds and awkwardly wraps his arms her petite frame. He continues to hold her for several minutes as she cries over his shoulder and mumbles incoherent sentences into his clothed shoulder.

Lucy pulls her head back enough to gaze into Laxus' eyes. He sees her big, moist, chocolate brown eyes that shine with joy and happiness. It's a different kind of happiness from when he last stared into her eyes but it has no less of an effect on him. His stomach starts to flutter while his heart rate speeds up.

"Thank you Laxus…" Lucy whispers. She closes her eyes as she leans forward and presses her lips to his right cheek, just over the tip of his scar. She can feel the fuzz of hair that has grown out since he last shaved and the change in roughness of his skin from the scar tissue; she didn't think she would be able to distinguish it completely but she enjoys the fact that she can. Rain, limes, and grass tastes and aromas spread through her mouth and nostrils and a shot of electricity shoots down her spine at the familiarity of the strong feeling.

Laxus' eyes go wide and all of the air in his lungs disappears as he feels her soft lips press against his skin. Time comes to a standstill as he feels the gentle pressure of her mouth, the curve of each pouted lip, the tip of her small nose, the strands of her long eyelashes, and the steady warm breath that she exhales over his skin. Some loose strands of her beautiful flaxen hair fall in front of his face and tickle his nose. Euphoria overcomes him at the overwhelming combination.

Lucy steadily pulls her lips from where they have stuck to his skin. She leans back enough so she can look him in the eye once more and gives him a brilliant smile. Laxus automatically gazes into her eyes and everything in his body goes haywire at the sight. He sees the extreme joy and happiness in her eyes but he also thinks he sees something else. It's a look he never thought he would see a woman hold towards him and it floors him. He thinks he might see a hint of… _love_. Or at least that is what he thinks it is.

It renders him completely immobile while at the same time, completely excited. His muscles tighten up to prevent any sort of external movement, his lungs forget how to breathe, and his unwavering eyes lock onto Lucy as she smiles up at him with big, bright, warm eyes and soft, plump lips. But his heart is beating so hard that it feels like it could burst out of chest, his blood is flowing so fast that he can hear it in his ears, his stomach is doing backflips and cartwheels, and his brain is in overdrive as it tries to process everything that is going on.

"…for everything," she whispers. Laxus' heart jumps up into his throat and he can only stare wide-eyed at the girl in his arms. Jolts of electricity spiral up his spine and cause his muscles to spasm.

Lucy releases her grip on the lightning mage and backs away from him to wipe her eyes. She glances at the velvet box before grasping it to her chest and hugging it. She tosses a wide grin at Laxus and sways back and forth in pure happiness.

He hasn't moved. His mind is still reeling from everything that has just happened in the past thirty seconds.

"Hey Laxus, do you want to watch me make the contracts with them tomorrow? Since you bought them, I think you should be the first one to see them. I would do it tonight but I'm too tired." Lucy asks excitedly.

"Sure…" Laxus mumbles absentmindedly.

"Great! Then I can get started on that week!" Lucy practically sings.

"Week...?"

Lucy spins and looks at Laxus eagerly, "What time should I come over?"

"U-uh, I don't know." Suddenly the memory of his collection pops up in his mind out of nowhere and before he can stop himself, he asks, "Would you still like to see my music collection?"

Lucy's eyes go wide as she clasps her hands so tight around the box that it creaks under the pressure. "Really?! I can still see it?! I would love to!" she exclaims with a smile that almost splits her face. "How about you pick me up here around noon and bring me to your house. I can look at your collection and show you my spirits then make us dinner."

"O-okay…"

Lucy finally notices that Laxus hasn't moved and furrows her eyebrows in worry. "Are you okay?"

"Hmmm? Yep, I'm alright. I need to get goin' home." Laxus barely manages to say.

Lucy gives him an unconvinced look but shrugs her shoulders before walking him to the door of the apartment building. She tells him how excited she is for tomorrow before they exchange goodnights and she closes the door.

She skips up the stairs to her room to admire her new keys. She gently takes them out of their spots in the box and places them on her key ring. As she lies down to go to sleep she smiles at the idea of making three new friends and the blonde man who has made all of this possible.

Laxus stands in front of Lucy's apartment for a few minutes until a surge of sharp pain shoots through his head. He winces and brings a hand to clutch at his right temple. A headache? Why would he get a headache all of the sudden? Sensing that it isn't going to be going away anytime soon, he bolts back to his house. In a minute, Laxus is walking through his front door and dropping his bag and coat on the coat rack next to the door.

His house is found on the edge on town near the forest. It is a medium sized two story house with pale yellow walls and brown roof tiles. A small porch is in front of the house with a door right in the center. Inside of the door is a large hallway that goes through the house and leads to a glass door at the back. A dining room is to the right with a square wooden table in the center and four chairs around it. To the left are the downstairs bathroom and a staircase that leads up to the second floor. In the back of the house, there is the kitchen behind the dining room walls. All of the basic necessities are there but are hardly used thanks to Laxus horrible cooking skills. A wall and a door lead out from the kitchen into the hall to another door and wall that block off the living room. The living room is the most filled room in the house. A sectional couch is positioned along the back and left wall, a lacrima screen sits opposite of the couch, two side tables are on either end of the couch, and a huge movie and music case is situated next to the screen.

Laxus heads up to his room and sits down on his bed with his head in his hands. Why is this happening? Why would Lucy giving him a kiss on the cheek give him one of the worst headaches he has ever had. It makes no sense.

Maybe a shower will make him feel better. He walks into the bathroom attached to his bedroom while still holding his throbbing head and starts to run a hot shower. He strips out of his clothes and throws them onto the floor. Steam rises from behind the glass door and makes the bathroom mirrors fog up.

He steps under the hot water and relishes in the fantastic feeling. He has been needing this. Four days of nothing but bad luck has caused his shoulder and back muscles to knot. His headache slowly dulls as he enjoys the water beating down on his neck and shoulders. Grabbing the soap, he starts to wash all the dirt and blood from his body.

 _I wonder if Lucy likes showers…_ Laxus thinks as his mind wonders off. His stomach does cartwheels and his heartrate picks up as he continues to think about the busty blonde. His right temple slowly starts to regain some of the pain that had previously left.

Sensations flood Laxus as he replays everything that happened in Lucy's apartment. Giving her the keys, her protests and acceptance, the kiss, the look in her eyes, and her giddiness are all crystal clear images in his head. A surge of pain and elation wracks his body when he remembers the kiss. _Why is this happening to me?_

After spending an ample amount of time in the shower, Laxus exits feeling squeaky clean, hurt, and excited; hurt from the headache and excited from the other emotions tumbling over one another. He walks over to his closet and pulls out a clean pair of boxer briefs to wear. Slipping them on, he goes to pull his curtains over the window and climbs into bed.

Lying down, he threads his fingers together behind his head. His thoughts once again go back to Lucy. Memories of helping her with Natsu, going to dinner, and the job all swirl together. Images of her smiling pop up in his head repeatedly and his whole body reacts. It feels like someone has shot adrenaline into his veins and he has all the energy in the world. The pain surges through his head and he winces at the throbbing.

He tries to think about other things but his mind always loops back to a smiling picture of Lucy. All of the emotions follow and create these overwhelming, intense sensations that begin to consume him. A pounding heart, a fluttering stomach, restless muscles, twitching palms, and shallow breaths all rage war with one another in a fight of dominance. Pain molds with everything else and creates more restlessness.

Laxus turns over onto his side and tries to will himself to sleep. The memories, emotions, and pain continue to plague him and he drags a hand down his face. _This is going to be a long night…_


	13. Chapter 13

**Thank you so much for the wonderful reviews! I was jumping for joy when I read them (which sadly ended up with me falling on my butt).**

 **Warning this chapter contains material meant for mature audiences only! This is my first lemon so please tell me how I did and whether or not it's any good or not. Thank so much!**

 **Hiro Mashima owns Fairy Tail and all corresponding characters. I only own the extra characters and plot.**

Her back hits the bed as his lips find hers again. His body barely touches hers as his arms support his weight on both sides of her head. One knee is in between her legs with the other beside her on the bed. The tips of her big breasts graze his chest and he has to stop himself from pressing his body further into hers. Laxus wants to tease her for putting this blindfold on him. It's only rightfully fair. The scent of her arousal is starting to penetrate the air and his growing hard on is yearning for her touch. Her hands slid into his hair as she both scrapes his scalp with her nails and pulls his face closer to hers.

It is a demanding, rough, and heady kiss and he returns the motions with a hunger. Moans, grunts, and pants sound across the room as their exchange becomes more and more heated. She tilts her head slightly to the side and opens her mouth further, urging him to give her more satisfaction. He slides his tongue into her moist cavern and rolls his tongue against hers in a wet dance before he begins to taste and feel the rest of her mouth. He memorizes every aspect of the woman who is sharing his bed; her plump smooth lips, her small wet tongue, and the warm inside of her mouth. _Holy hell, she tastes delicious…but I need more,_ he thinks to himself.

Laxus breaks off the kiss to kiss over her cheek until he reaches her ear. He presses his lips to the skin under her ear before he sucks hard on the lobe and brings it into his mouth. Nibbling and sucking on the soft flesh, he lets it go with a pop and licks the outer shell of her ear. Following the contours of her ear leads him to the inside and he circles his tongue in the small opening. She gasps at the feeling before a moan slips up her throat. A shiver rolls through her body and she pulls her head away. Reaching down her arm he feels the goosebumps that have sprung up all over her body.

"You want more?" Laxus whispers to his lover as he lowers his mouth to her ear once more. His hot breath fans over her wet skin and gives her goosebumps again.

She answers him by grabbing the sides of his head and smashing her lips back onto his. He moans at the contact but it's swallowed by her mouth as she thrusts her tongue into his mouth and rolls it against his. Her own moans mix with his and create the sexiest sound he has ever heard.

His right hand moves to her shoulder and he presses his fingers into her flesh as he slowly drags his hand downward over her barely clothed chest. Laxus can feel her nipple through her shirt; it is hard and sensitive and begging to be touched. But he won't give her that satisfaction…yet.

Roughly palming the sides of her large globe in one hand he grabs her hair with the other and pulls down. Her head tilts backward and he is given a great opening to her neck. Wasting no time, he kisses, licks, sucks, and nibbles on the sensitive spots along the middle of her throat before moving to where her neck meets her shoulder and giving the small curve the same treatment. As she moans and groans her approval he can feel every muscle contract and expand under his lips. Her fingers curl in his hair and pulls on the strands in pleasure. She moves one hand to his shoulder and massages the tense muscles he has there.

His hand stops its rough handling and moves downward to her the middle of her stomach where the edge of her shirt lies. Inching his fingers under her clothing he maneuvers his hand up and over her tit once more. Laxus swirls his fingertips over her nipple and she gasps at the contact.

Applying more pressure he takes the hard bud between his fingers and pinches and pulls the sweet little nub. She arches her back and pushes her chest further into his grasp. He continues his ministrations a little while longer before he switches sides on her neck and chest and repeats the motions. Loud pants come out of her mouth with every hard suck and pinch he gives her. Her right foot and leg on the outside of his body start caressing his leg with long strokes and she tries to rub her hips against his. _I love how she is so eager._

Releasing his left hand from her hair, Laxus grabs her other thigh and spreads her legs to allow both of his to fit in between hers. Wrapping both of her legs around his narrow hips she forces him to sink into her and eagerly presses her clothed core into his covered erection.

He can't take it anymore. He has to touch her-really touch her.

His left hand moves up her thigh, under her skirt and to his ultimate destination. Pushing her panties to the side he gingerly feel the warm, smooth, flesh of her slit before he brushes over her clit. Her hips buck at the brief contact and she groans her disappointment at not being given her relief. Smirking in her neck, Laxus brushes his finger back over her clit again and receives the same response. After several more passes over her pebble, mewls and whimpers begin to escape her mouth and Laxus decides that the woman has had enough of his teasing. He firmly press his finger to her clit and begin circling and pinching the erect nub. She lets out a loud groan and begins to rub her hips into his hand. _God she feels fucking amazing_.

Her hands leave his hair and shoulder and firmly push against his chest. His body promptly stills at the sudden change in mood. _She wants him stop? Why? I thought she was enjoying herself._

Laxus pulls his hands and mouth away from her body and sits up on his heels. _Stupid fucking blindfold, I can't see a god damn thing._ He feels her move out from underneath him and grabs his wrists as she stands up from the bed. She smoothly pulls him around so that he is sitting on the edge of the bed with her gently holding his wrists.

Grabbing the back of both of his hands with hers, she lays his palms on top of her shoulders. Slowly dragging his hands down over her chest she stops once both of his hands are on her breasts. She clenches her hands, making him squeeze her.

Realization dawns on Laxus. The little temptress is paying him back for teasing her earlier. A smirk unconsciously spreads over his lips.

She continues dragging his hands down her body until they get to the edge of her shirt. Pulling his hands to her sides, she makes him grab her shirt and starts to lift his hands up. Quickly catching on, he yanks the offending material off and throws it away somewhere. Taking his hands, she does the same routine as before: first he touches her shoulders then she drags his hands down to her glorious tits and makes him squeeze her. Except this time she has no shirt.

Laxus licks his dry lips as he palms her warm, soft flesh. His erection is painfully hard now and demands he take his pants off.

Pulling his hands down over her stomach he feels her small belly button before he feels fabric under his fingertips. She brings his hands around to her hips and hooks his thumbs under the material of her panties and shorts. Her hands leave his and he waits in anticipation. The sound of a zipper and a button being pushed through fabric greets his ears and he smiles in understanding. He feels her lean forward at her hips and she presses a soft teasing kiss to his lips. She pulls a hair's breathe away and Laxus leans forward in an attempt to recapture her lips in a more indulging kiss.

As his lips barely brush against hers, she pulls back again but just enough so he can still feel her breath. He can't help himself and he tries to touch her once more. He barely touches her lips before she pulls away with a giggle. She pushes him to sit straight and begins to give him small, soft pecks on his lips. A smile crosses her smooth plump lips as she tenderly tastes him. The tip of her tongue pokes out and swipes over the crease between his upper and lower lip.

He exhales a huff of air as she straightens herself up. They got distracted from their main objective but it's time to continue. Her hands join back with his and begin to push down. Laxus pushes down the fabric and with every inch he can feel the fabric loosen until finally it's so loose that he lets go and it falls to the ground with a light thud.

The woman presses her hands to Laxus' shoulders to tell him to straighten his back and he does as she commands. Taking his hands once more, she starts at her shoulders and slowly brings his hands to her breasts and gives a hard squeeze before continuing her tour. Her flat stomach leads to her belly button again and instead of fabric he is greeted with the soft smooth skin of her flaring hips. He barely holds in the groan that begs to erupt from his throat. Past her hips she shows his hands to her slim thighs down to her knees.

Moving his left hand back up to her hip, she moves his right hand to the inside of her thigh and slowly brings his hand up to her core. He is panting heavily and when his hand makes contact with her, he lets out the groan that he has been holding in. She drags his fingertips through her folds until he reach the top where the sensitive bundle of nerves waits. Making him make small circles on her clit she moans her bliss at his touch.

She's completely bare to him. That is what she wanted to show him. _Holy…fucking…hell_. _If I wasn't turned on by now, I definitely am now._

She pulls his hands away once more and tugs on his wrists outward, silently telling him to stand up. He obliges her and as she drops his wrists he lets them hang to the side of his body. The next thing he feels is her grabbing the top button of his shirt and pushing it through the loop. While his lover moves to the next button, his hands begin to shake. All of that touching has made his skin hyperaware of her body and the anticipation of what is to come when she finishes undressing him brings him unbelievable excitement.

Finishing with the last button she tugs the shirt down off his shoulders and arms and disposes of it. He feels a tug on his belt as she begins to unbuckle it. She unbuckles his belt then unbuttons and unzips his pants. Slipping her fingers between his skin and his boxer briefs she pulls his pants and underwear down his hips. Relief floods his senses as he is fully released from his confines. A small gasp escapes her lips when steps out of the last bit of his clothing and stands in front of her in all of his naked glory.

The strength of the scent of her arousal has doubled and is putting him in a daze of passion and yearning. Not being able to see her makes his exposure extra exciting. This whole endeavor relies on sound, taste, smell, and touch. And Laxus can practically feel her raking her eyes over him while she licks and bites her lips.

She grabs his wrists again and spins him towards the bed and pushes him forward. Because of the blindfold, Laxus carefully steps forward until his knees hit the edge and he hears the bed creak as she moves onto it. With one last tug he reaches out to find her position and feels that she is lying down before she coordinates him over her. Grabbing the back of his head she pulls him to her and he can fell the soft malleable flesh of her breast under his face. She also pushes his right hand in between their bodies and against her warm, wet opening between her legs. First wetting his fingers with her juices; she gentle nudges two of his fingers into her dripping pussy while she presses his face harder into her breast. When his fingers are barely inside of her, she pulls her hand away and grasps at his shoulder. Catching her drift, he can't deny her the pleasure she wants so dearly.

Laxus pushes his fingers inside of her slowly as he begins to lick and suck her hard nipple. Once he pushes his fingers all the way in, he pulls them almost completely out and with a hard suck on her nipple he quickly thrusts them back inside. He continues the cycle but keeps a relatively slow pace. She loudly moans and groans as he continues his torturous pace on both her pussy and tit. The sexy woman grinds her hips into his hand asking for a faster pace and he obliges her as he speeds up his assault. Her hands move to his back and starts clawing at the thick muscles. _Fuck, she's tight. She's going to feel so good squeezing my dick,_ he thinks to himself as he feels her tighten around his digits. Her pants come in ragged and uncontrolled and he can feel how she is teetering on the edge of an orgasm. Slightly curling his fingers she comes undone for him with a silent scream as air whooshes out of her lungs and her back arches of the bed pushing her breast further into his mouth.

Coming down from her high, the woman grabs Laxus' bicep and pushes him up and off of her so he was lying on his back. Pulling her leg over his body she straddles him. She sits on him so that the head of his cock is rubbing against her clit and the rest of his dick is getting soaked in the juices from her orgasm. He grabs her hips and attempts to lift her onto his cock but she swats his hands away.

She slowly rocks her hips back and forth and up and down to further rub his tip against her sensitive bundle of nerves. Gasps and shivers roll throughout her body with each pass. Laxus tightly clenches the sheets in the attempt to prevent himself from rolling her over and fiercely pounding into the woman. He tilts his head back at the sensations and she leans forward to place a smoldering kiss on his lips before she begins to caress his skin with her fingertips.

Still grinding herself into him, he begins to pant heavily as he struggles to hold in the mewls and whimpers that climb up his throat. Starting from his fingers she moves to the back of his hands, up his forearms, up his biceps, and over his shoulders. When she reaches his chest she treads down the center until she reaches the bottom then she curls around to the outside and brings her fingertips back to the top. Going over the main muscle, the little tease gives his nipples a sharp pinch and makes Laxus hiss before reaching the top of his abs. Lying her palms flat she runs over the toned, hard muscle and her fingers maneuver inside of all of the dips between them.

Reaching the bottom, she follows the 'v' shaped lines from the muscle to his crotch. She brings her hand to his twitching muscle in between her legs and gives a light squeeze to the base. Laxus groans and brings his hands to her hips and squeezes them in a vain attempt to find some relief. Sliding her hand up with the same pressure, she easily glides back down to the base from all of her slickness that has gathered on him. His hips buck on their own accord. Setting a leisurely pace of rubbing his cock with her hand and slit, a cascade of whimpers fall from his mouth. I _need more…please give me more…I can't take any more of this teasing._ As if understanding his yearning she stops.

She puts one hand on his abs and as she slightly lifts her body and brings him to her drenched core. Laxus lets out a small beg for her to please let him fill her. Pressing the thick tip into her moist nether lips she pulls her hand away and lays it beside its twin. Slowly bringing herself down onto his cock her hands clench on his abs and they both moan at the unbelievable sensation. Once she has taken his entire dick inside of her pussy she stops and takes several deep breaths. Laxus pants and tries his hardest not to move so she can adjust to his size. It's not easy to take someone as big as him inside completely but she did it like a pro.

After a few minutes she begins to move her body in a slow and steady rhythm. She rises up enough to have just the tip inside of her and then she makes the descent back to his base. Going at slow pace, he could feel every inch of her smooth, warm, wet pussy. The solid tip of his dick can feel every grove of her slick cavern as she pushes down onto him. Her muscles slightly contract and flutter around him. But Laxus needs more. Laxus wants a vice like grip. He wants to be squeezed until he can hardly fit inside of the petite woman. He bucks his hips into her and creates more friction between them. At first she speeds up just so that he is smoothly gliding out of her but can still feel every inch of him. After feeling too frustrated with the too slow of a pace, she speeds up so that she is practically bouncing on top of him.

His hands thrust outward and find her bouncing breasts. How he would love to look at her but he can't because he still has the blindfold on. His outer fingers massage the flesh while his thumb and forefinger pinches her nipples. Her body straightens as she throws her head back and heavily pants at the sensation of Laxus playing with her tits and filling her cunt. His head follows the same motion as it tilts back into the pillow and nearly drags his blindfold off. Laxus' lover feels one-hundred times better than he thought she would. Nothing can possibly compare to this.

He feels her quivering core start to get almost unbearably tight around him and he knows she is about to cum for him again. Just a little bit more. He tears his hands from her boobs and tightly grips her hips. He thrusts his hips up to slam into her pussy and forces her body down with his hands. She chokes on the air escaping her lungs when his tip hits her g-spot. It only takes a few more of his hard thrusts against her spongy spot before she cums around him. Her fingers dig into his skin, a suffocated scream escapes from her throat, and her convulsing core grips his rock hard dick.

She bends down and begins to suck on his tongue and he begins to feel the sensational pressure fill his dick. Her orgasm and embrace brings Laxus past the point of no return. Laxus' thrusts become erratic and fervent as he tries to prolong her orgasm as long as possible before he finishes. With a few last hard thrusts, their groans are mixed together as Laxus spills himself inside of her. The hot spurts spray across the walls of her pussy and mix with the juices of her orgasms. Some of their passion drips out of her to the inside of her thighs.

She collapses on him as they come down from their highs. He remains inside of her as she rests on his chest. "Fuck, that was great," he says between breaths. She nuzzles into his chest in her approval. Laxus wraps his arms around her and he holds her close to him. They lay there perfectly content with the world.

In those quiet, blissful moments, Laxus realizes he is in love with the woman he is holding. To hold the woman he loves in his arms after they made fantastic love; this must be what heaven feels like.

Laxus absentmindedly reaches up and tugs the blindfold off of his eyes. As the fabric barely leaves his skin, her presence suddenly disappears. He rips the rest of the blindfold off as he feels the open air that was her skin a moment ago. Opening his eyes, it's so bright that he cringes as his eyes adjust. Feeling around the bed he searches for her body. Nothing. Laxus opens his eyes once more. The light around the bed is moderately low and darkness shrouds the outside of the immediate area of the bed. He sits up and frantically looks around the room for her. Nothing. He tries to look out into the darkness but finds that it is too dense to see anything. "Wait! Please come back!" he calls out into the darkness. Silence.

Laxus sits there as fear, sadness, and anxiety creep onto his face and into his heart. She was right there. He was touching her. How could she have just disappeared all of the sudden? Laxus' body starts quivering. She's gone. She left him. _I'm all alone_ , Laxus thinks. With that thought something deep inside of him breaks into a million sharp, jagged pieces with a sharp piercing noise.

Gasping for air, Laxus bolts up in bed. His panting is uneven and his body is shaking. Frantically he looks at his surroundings trying to find some way to find her. He needs to. He has to. But the bed and the darkness are gone and instead he's in a room. There is a dresser, a desk, a small table and two doors on the far side of the room. Why does this place look familiar?

Everything starts coming back to him. This is his room, in his house, in Magnolia. It was all just a dream. She was just a dream. He puts his head in his hands and takes deep breaths as he tries to stop shaking.

That was _the_ dream. The dream that leaves him the most satisfied but the one that always makes him feel the most empty and alone. The one he hates the most.

Looking over at the clock on the wall, it reads three o'clock in the morning. "Fuck...it's only been two hours", he curses as he runs a sweaty hand down his face. He flops back down into bed and tries to get comfortable once again.

The hours following his visit to Lucy have been nothing but painful, confusing, and restless. He couldn't sleep even if his life depended on it. Nothing he did worked.

The only way he forced himself to go to sleep was with the thought of having a fantasy with Lucy. They are his usual favorites and all of his thoughts about the woman only drove his body to respond to the idea.

That is why he cannot deny that he is physical attracted to Lucy. There is no way in hell he can do that. That fact that she has the potential to be his mate only serves to make his dreams and fantasies that much more intense. So his instincts automatically think of her when he feels the need to jack off or if he is just in the mood.

That is why he is so surprised that he had _that_ dream. A part of him feels dirty for having such a dream when his thoughts have been previously invaded by Lucy.

He originally started having the dream after he woke up in a small town on the far east of Fiore when he was twenty. The odd thing though is that he can't remember anything about how he got there.

When he woke up he realized that he was in a hotel that had his things littered around his room. His clothes were neatly folded and placed on top of the dresser. His shoes were placed at the foot of the bed and his head had a bandage wrapped around it. Everything looked like normal except for three things. One, he had a bandage around his head and he had a throbbing headache. Two, all of the lamps in the room had black scorch marks on them and look to be completely busted. Three, there was a big black coat with fur along the trim that was hanging on the chair in the room.

He thought that he must have gotten into a fight, destroyed the lamps, and got hit in the head and that's why he can't remember anything. As for the coat, he must have bought it at some point.

At least, that's what he thought at first. Then he smelled _it_. It was very faint and masked with a more masculine smell but he smelled it. That smell that he has associated with any woman that has the potential to be his mate. There was a woman in that room with him at some point but he can't remember how or when. Every time that he tried his head would feel like it would split in half. But he knows there was someone in there with him; even if he only has his instincts to go off of.

Once he returned home, that is when the dreams started. At first he didn't associate it with anything but then he realized after the first few times that he was dreaming about the mystery woman. Did they sleep together? Or was this just a figment of his imagination? He cannot count the amount of times that he wished he could remember but try as he might, he never remembered anything.

When he first started having this dream it recurred every night for five months. Leaving him sexually frustrated and hungry. Nothing he ever did stopped it. It almost drove him crazy. Then every night turned into every other night. Then it turned into once a week then a month. Now it only happens once every few months.

Heaving a great sigh, he turns over to lie on his side. He would like to get some more sleep before he spends the day with Lucy. As a relaxation technique he conjures up an image of Lucy swimming in a pool while wearing a tight black bikini. Her hair soaked with water and her skin glistening in the sun. She calls out that he should join her and to come play with her with lust in her voice.

His breathing slows and his muscles relax as he drifts off into slumber with his sexy thoughts of his fellow blonde.

* * *

Laxus sits up in bed from a cold sweat with his chest heaving. He looks around the room to find the mysterious woman only to find her gone once again.

"Why is this happening to me?" he curses as he turns to sit on the edge of his bed.

Three times. Three times, he has had the same dream in one night. This has never happened before. Or at least, it's not supposed to.

He looks up at the clock on the wall and sees that it's nearly eight in the morning. Deciding that it would be better to get out of bed than risk having his "nightmare" again, Laxus stands up and stretches out his weary limbs. He walks over to his closet and pulls out a sleeveless black shirt with fur around the trim and collar and loose maroon pants to wear for the day.

The stairs creak as his body lumbers downstairs and to the kitchen. Laxus looks in his refrigerator and finds it empty, with the exception of a few pieces of bacon, two eggs, and some questionable looking milk. The bacon and the eggs are pulled out while the milk is left to sour further.

There is no way that anyone with working taste buds can call Laxus a cook. Not by a long shot. However, there are a few "necessary" items that he had to learn how to cook to survive-like bacon and eggs.

After cooking everything to just over well done, he takes the pan off of the stove and deposits his food onto his plate.

As Laxus sits down at the kitchen table and starts eating his breakfast, he notices something. It's dirty. His whole house is dirty. The floors haven't been moped, the counters haven't been wiped, nothing is dusted, and the windows haven't been cleaned. It's nowhere near as bad as Natsu's house but it's still not acceptable; especially when he is about to have a guest over in a few hours.

Usually he is a very clean man. He has always taken pride on being able to keep his things intact and well taken care of. Lately though, he has been slacking when it comes to cleaning duties and it shows all over his house.

He decides he is going to clean everything before he goes and retrieves Lucy and mulls over where to start as he chews on his bacon. _The kitchen will probably be the best place to start. Lucy is going to be cooking in here after all_ , he thinks to himself as he finishes his plate. _Maybe I should get the Thunder Tribe to help me clean up around here? That'll make everything a whole lot ea-_

 _Ding Dong_ The doorbell rings through the house.

Laxus gets up and answers the door, only to see the three people he was just thinking about. Freed, Bickslow, and Evergreen push past him as they scramble inside the house.

Laxus raises an eyebrow at them as they stand in front of him. "What do you guys want?"

"What happened on your job?" Freed asks hurriedly. He is having a hard time keeping his composure when there are so many questions to be answered.

"A lot of stuff," Laxus says as he moves toward the living room in the back. He can already tell that they are going to be here for a while.

The Thunder Legion follows him through the house and sits on the sofa once they reach the living room. They look at him anxiously as if he is about the fall apart.

Laxus takes a seat in the armchair next to couch. He notices his team's worried faces and sighs, "I'm fine."

"How did you obtain all of those wounds?" Freed asks seriously.

"It's a long story," Laxus shrugs.

"Would _Lucy_ know?" Freed snides.

"Yeah, would Lucy _know_?" Bickslow says as his tongue rolls out of his pervy grin.

Laxus perks up at the mention of the woman who has been haunting his thoughts. "Lucy? What does this have to do with her?"

None of the Thunder Legion misses how Laxus reacted to Lucy's name. That is all the proof they need to know that something is going on between them.

"Where's Cheerleader?" Bickslow asks as he looks around.

"At home probably," Laxus answers in an indifferent tone.

"Well that's no fun," Evergreen pouts.

"She must be amazing." Bickslow continues with a shit-eating grin.

"Huh?" Laxus says as he scrunches his eyebrows in confusion.

"Oh come on! Give me some details! How loud was she? How many rounds did you have? Are they really as big as they look?" Bickslow urges his leader.

"No! Don't answer that! That is too much information!" Evergreen says loudly as she hits Bickslow with her fan.

"What the hell are you two talking about?" Laxus frowns at his two squabbling teammates.

Freed commands his teammates to be quiet and to get back to the matter at hand. Evergreen and Bickslow straighten up and face a confused Laxus with seriousness.

Laxus is completely lost. One second they're talking about his job then the next second they're talking about something else that he thinks involves Lucy. To top it all off, he has no idea why they are bothering him when he should be cleaning his house.

"Laxus, we are concerned. You have been acting strange lately and we noticed that it started happening when Lucy became involved," Freed says cautiously. If his leader is under a spell or potion, he might not be forthcoming about their relationship

Laxus scowls at Freed's insinuation. A long, restless night filled with headaches and frustrating dreams has put him in a bad mood. The only good things he can possible foresee is showing off his collection to Lucy and having her cook for him. So now that he has to deal with Freed, Bickslow, and Evergreen charging into his house and insulting the one person who can make him feel better, only dampens his mood further.

"Are you saying that Lucy caused my injuries?" Laxus almost hisses.

"We're just saying that you looked didn't leave the guild with cuts and bruises and missing teeth," Bickslow says.

"It wasn't her fault," Laxus grumbles with a deep frown.

"Are you positive?" Evergreen asks.

"Yes."

"Then why did she have your teeth?"

"She was going to hold on to them for when I got to Wendy."

"What about the cuts and bruises?" Freed insists.

"We were in a carriage accident among other things," Laxus huffs.

Horror crosses the Thunder Legion's faces. Laxus' answer sets them in a frenzy as they shoot off a million questions at once. Laxus scowls as he listens to his team make the stupidest accusations against Lucy and him.

"What is the real reason you three here?" Laxus demands loudly. These three have really soured his mood from all of their meddling.

A tense silence fills the room as the Thunder Legion freezes. They hesitate as they wait to see which one of them is bravest to tell the man why they came to his house. Laxus looks between his three guests and he can feel his mood drop with every second that they don't give him an answer.

"We think Lucy is a bad influence," Evergreen finally says. Freed and Bickslow nod their heads in agreement.

"That being said, we wanted to ask you if you wish for us to make sure that she doesn't influence you anymore," Freed says in a calm tone.

Laxus stares at his team like they have lost their minds.

Lucy is a bad influence? The entire time that he has known her she has been nothing but a good influence. Albeit with a few setbacks but she didn't cause those on purpose. She was even the best part of the whole god damn job; she made it all bearable. Otherwise, he would have quit after the first day. Every good thing that happened during the job only happened because she was there. It would have been a good experience if it weren't for those dice from hell.

"No. Leave Lucy alone," Laxus gruffly commands his team.

His three teammates look at each other before Freed looks Laxus in the eye to try to convey the seriousness of this matter. "Laxus, Lucy must learn that she can't-"

"Leave. Lucy. Alone," Laxus growls at his team. They're all acting like idiots and are pissing him off.

The three members of his team are taken aback by their leader's command towards them. Why is he defending her? He must be more heavily drugged than they thought.

"Now get out, I have to get ready." Laxus says as he gets up from his couch. These three have pissed him off enough for one day.

The Thunder Legion joins him in standing. "Ready for what?" Freed asks suspiciously.

"None of your business. Now leave." Laxus says with a frown. The last thing these guys need to know is that he is going to have Lucy come over to the house. They might come in and start harassing her otherwise.

Freed, Bickslow, and Ever look at one another in silence but don't argue with the larger man. Each one steps out onto Laxus' front porch and tells him goodbye. Laxus closes the door and turns back to his living room. He huffs an agitated sigh as he starts to clean up his house.

The Thunder Legion walks down the path from Laxus' house through the forest. The early morning sun pierces the forest canopy with sunlight and creates light spots on the floor.

"Now what do we do?" Bickslow asks.

"We go confront the main perpetrator of this scheme," Freed replies.

"But Laxus said…" Evergreen starts.

"I am aware of what Laxus said but we cannot let this go. If we allow for this to continue, who know what will happen to Laxus on the next job he takes with Lucy. We must acquire a confession from her and have her stop this plan," Freed says without hesitation.

"How?" Bickslow asks while crossing his arms.

"Through interrogation," Freed replies darkly. The three mages make their way into town to find the buxom blonde.

* * *

Lucy is walking along the sidewalk soaking up the sunshine. Today is a perfect day. She woke up from a long, much-needed sleep, she had no unwelcomed visitors, a nice long bath, got dressed in a cute tank top and shorts, and is now walking in the warm sunshine to the guild hall. Not too long from now, she will be making three new friends, looking at Laxus' music collection, and eating a tasty dinner. A perfect day indeed. It is mid-morning so she figures that she should go to the guild and tell the Master how the job went before Laxus picks her up in a few hours. Before she left the house she made sure to pocket her key ring in case she felt like getting a new belt while she is out.

Walking into the guild hall, she notices that the only regulars that are here are Erza, Master, and Mira. She gives them a wave and joins them at the bar. Mira hands Lucy a milkshake before she leans over the counter and asks the oddest question.

"Why were you and Laxus together?" Mira asks anxiously. She has been waiting for four days for her answers and she is about to get them.

"Because we went on a job together?" Lucy says it like it's obvious.

Mira shakes her head, "No, no. Why were you originally together?"

"Originally?" Lucy tilts her head in confusion.

"Lucy, I think Mira wants to know why you and Laxus were together on the day you picked out your job." Master says as he looks her in the eye. Even he was curious about this one.

"Oh, I see," Lucy says with a nod. "Well I ran into Laxus while I was on that last job with Natsu and he came and helped me out. We got talking and we found out that we like the same music. When we got back into town, he asked me if I wanted to see his music collection. There's no way that I'm turning that offer down! His collection must be incredible! So I said yes and he told me that he would pick me up in the morning so we can go to his house."

"He invited you to his house?" Mira asks incredulously.

"Oh I bet he did," Master says with a knowing smile. "Laxus is very, very proud of his music collection. When he was younger he would always tell me whenever he added something to it. I was never a fan of his favorite genre so it didn't mean a lot to me but it meant the world to him. He must be excited to find someone else who enjoys his type of music. It'll give him something to brag about."

Mira looks between the nodding master and smiling Lucy with a pout. _That makes sense. Then why did they go on a job…_

"Anyway, that night my landlady told me that she was raising my rent by twenty-thousand jewel and that I have one week to pay it. So when Laxus came to get me I told him couldn't go because I needed to take a few jobs instead. He said that I should just take one but I told him that I probably couldn't by myself so he offered to go with me. That's when we came to the guild and I found the job to find the magical artifacts for Mr. Tweed," Lucy finishes with a smile.

 _Oh, that's why._ Mira thinks with a frown. She was hoping that there was something between her two favorite blondes. They need some romance in their lives and they would be the cutest couple.

"What happened on the job? You both looked terrible when you got back," Erza asks. She has to stop herself from demanding the answers out of Lucy. She wanted to go check up on her earlier this morning but the master stopped her.

Lucy huffs in exaggeration, "You know how you have those days where everything that can go wrong, does go wrong? Well that is what happened on our job; _everything_ went wrong."

"What do you mean?" Mira asks.

"Well we go meet our client Mr. Tweed and he tells us that we have to go find these objects…" Lucy begins her tale of the series of unfortunate events that her and Laxus went through over the past four days. She spares no details, except for Laxus laying his head in her lap, how she kissed and touched him, how she sat on his lap while they slept on the train, occasionally bumping into each other, and Laxus lying in his own vomit. All of those things are too embarrassing and she doesn't want anyone to know those little details.

Erza, Master, and Mira listen to her story with tremendous interest. At first their facial expressions were stoic and calm but they eventually turn into laughter.

Other members gradually enter the guild as the day drags on. They all see Erza, Mira, and Master by the bar laughing their heads off and each wonders what is going on. Gray, Wendy, Carla, Juvia, and Levy come to the bar at different points in the day and start listening to Lucy's story. Some of them don't hear the first part but they quickly forget that detail as they hear the ridiculous things her and Laxus went through. Lucy has to restrain herself from laughing as she tells the story; she didn't realize how funny and truly outlandish the whole story really is.

By the end, everyone cannot stop laughing. Mira, Wendy, Juvia, Levy, and Carla are in tears from laughing so hard, Master and Gray are rolling around on the bar and floor holding their sides, and Erza can't even eat her cake because she would have choked otherwise.

"…so we teleported back to the guild and that's when you saw us." Lucy finishes with a laugh.

"Oh…my…god!" Grays says between laughs.

"I'm so…sorry Lucy," Mira says as she wipes her eyes.

Everyone else takes deep, calming breaths and wipes their eyes to rid their last tears.

"That has to be one of the best stories ever," Levy says with a happy sigh.

"Well, it is now. At the time it was terrible," Lucy says with a small pout.

"I'm glad that the both of you are safe and that your ordeal is over," Erza says before she finally takes a bite of her cake.

Noticing the time, Lucy slips off of the barstool. "Well I have to get going; I have some things to do today."

"Okay, thanks for coming in and keeping us updated," Mira says as she grabs a rag.

Lucy bids all of her friends goodbye before walking out of the guild hall. Everyone smiles at the blonde's retreating back before going off to attend their own interests. Master smiles into his beer. _Everything is back to normal_ , he thinks happily.

She hops onto the railing between the sidewalk and the canal. She holds out her arms to help balance herself as she walks home along the thin line of stone.

She starts to make plans for the rest of the day. First, she is going to go home and wait for Laxus to pick her up. Then, they are going to go to the market and get something to eat for dinner. Then they are going to go to look at his _amazing_ collection, look at her _spectacular_ new spirits, and have an _awesome_ dinner. She is bound and determined to make this one of the best dinners he has ever eaten, come hell or high water.

The mere thought of the lightning slayer brings a smile to Lucy's face. _He's just been so great lately…_

Lucy was surprised at how thoughtful and sweet Laxus can be. In all of the months that they have spent becoming friends, she would have never pegged him for being the nice kind of man. Every time that they would talk he would always seem guarded and abrasive to everyone. Including her. She just accepted it and dealt with it.

Now she realizes though, that he isn't always what he seems. When they talk about music he is full of such passion and life that she never thought the dragon slayer held inside. He's very attentive; that's why he always gave her his coat when she needed it. She always felt so safe and warm under the heavy fabric despite feeling small as well. The greatest thing though was when he bought her those three keys. No words can describe the amount of care she saw in the gesture. It was one of the nicest things anyone has ever done for her and it made her feel like she was on top of the world.

It makes her so happy to see this side of Laxus. The side that no one, beside the Thunder Legion, gets to see. It's no wonder that the Freed, Ever, and Bickslow like hanging around him. She has only been on one job with the blonde man and she is about to happily make him dinner for a week.

She also wouldn't mind going on another job with him. All bad luck aside, he was a great partner. He didn't try to run off and destroy the whole town, make fun of her, or cause them to lose their reward. Instead he hardly destroyed anything, he never made fun of her, endured everything so she can pay off her rent, and to top it all off, paid a ridiculous amount of money just because of something she wanted. He's so great…

It's almost like he's the hero in fairytales. Maybe that's why Freed calls Laxus his hero. _The funny part is that Laxus doesn't even know that he's doing anything,_ Lucy giggles to herself as she opens the door to her apartment.

Lucy closes the door behind her as a pair of hands grabs her around her upper arms. A yelp escapes her as she is pushed across the room and shoved into her armchair. Thick cords of rope are wrapped around her the second that her body makes contact with the chair. She tries to struggle free but the intruder has tied the rope so tight that any thought of escape is impossible.

"Who are you?! What do you want?!" Lucy demands as she looks up.

A figure moves out of the shadows to reveal a familiar green haired mage with a sword.

"Freed?! What the hell are you doing here?!" Lucy yells in surprise. She looks around to see Bickslow and Evergreen moving to stand beside him. "Bickslow?! Ever?! Did you do this to me?!" Lucy gestures with her head toward the rope. Seeing that it's only the Thunder Legion makes her nerves calm down.

"Sorry Cheerleader, we didn't want you running away or anything," Bickslow says with a grin.

"Running away? Run away from what?" Lucy asks in a confused voice.

"We're here to retrieve answers," Freed speaks with a stern and cold voice.

Lucy gulps as she breaks out into a cold sweat. "A-answers about what?"

Freed narrows his eyes at the blonde woman, "You know what I speak of."

Her eyebrows scrunch together, "Um…No, I don't."

"We'll go easy on you if you just come out and admit it," Bickslow says as his tongue rolls out.

"Admit what?"

"Honestly, I thought you were of the decent ones. I didn't think you would stoop this low Lucy but I guess I was wrong," Ever says with a sigh. She is clearly very disappointed with the girl in front of her and Lucy doesn't miss the expression.

"Huh?"

"Where are the love potions?" Freed asks harshly.

Lucy looks her three captures confounded, "Love potions? What the hell are you guys talking about?"

Freed slides over to Lucy and gets an inch away from her face. "Where are the love potions?! Or is it a spell?! Tell me!" he demands.

"I don't know what you're talking about," Lucy says frantically.

"Don't lie! We know you did something to Laxus!"

"I haven't done anything!" Lucy defends herself.

"Then why was Laxus with you the morning you two went on a job?"

"He was picking me up so we can go to his house." Lucy says simply. She doesn't understand what the big deal is.

Bickslow, Freed, and Ever's eyes go wide. They would never have guessed that Lucy would admit that she was going to go to Laxus' house. They must get down to the bottom of this seduction scheme of hers. They look at one another and give each other a small nod.

Evergreen comes to stand in front of Lucy. "What did you do to Laxus on your job?" she questions with a raised eyebrow.

"I didn't do anything."

"Oh? You mean to tell us that he just happened to get hurt on your first job together?" Freed asks skeptically.

"Well no but that's because…"

"Because you seduced him?!" Freed interjects with the most accusing voice Lucy has ever heard.

Lucy's jaw drops and her face flushes. "What?! No! I would never…!"

"Oh come on Cheerleader, you can admit it. He had to get those fingernail scratches from somewhere," Bickslow laughs with his pervy grin.

Lucy vehemently shakes her head at their accusations. "It was from the other women…"

"Other women?! You sold him off to other women?!" Freed gasps.

Lucy's eyes bug out, "No! I did not sell him to other women!"

"So it was you who hurt him!" Evergreen points at Lucy.

"No! Oh my god…" Lucy groans. "A lot of different stuff happened on our job and we both got a little hurt. But I did not seduce or hurt Laxus. Not once."

"Tell us the truth Lucy," Freed says coldly.

"I am!"

"So you are denying that you have done anything against our leader?"

"No! I'm not denying anything because there is nothing to deny! I am telling you the truth when I say that I did not seduce or hurt Laxus! We went on a job where we both got a little banged up. That's it!" These three are starting to get on her last nerve.

Freed looks at Bickslow and Ever and they both nod at him. If she wants to do this the hard way, then they'll do this the hard way. He turns back to the tied up girl. "Lucy, it is our opinion that you should stay away from Laxus."

Lucy's heart drops when she hears Freed's words and she can only look at the man in shock. "What?" she mumbles.

"Stay away from Laxus. That's an order."

The words reverberate in her mind and finally set in. "An order?! You're ordering me to stay away from Laxus?!" Lucy yells.

"That's right," Ever says haughtily.

"You have no right to tell me what to do!" Lucy yells even louder than before.

"We do when the sanctity and safety of our leader is at risk," Freed replies.

"I am not going to hurt him! I would never do that!" Lucy insists. Why won't they listen to her?!

"Well he came back from your guy's job all beat up," Bickslow says as he crosses his arms.

"I already told you! I DIDN'T DO ANYTHING!"

Freed shakes his head, "It doesn't matter what you say, we will not allow you near Laxus any longer. If you try to defy us, we will be forced to punish you."

Lucy's anger rises to new levels and she opens her mouth to retaliate when she and the Thunder Legion hear a sharp buzzing noise outside the door. A thunderous crack replaces it when the door and the connecting wall are blown to pieces from the outside. Debris flies into the small apartment and toward the stunned occupants. All four mages turn to look at the sudden intruder. Lucy breaks into a smile and hope gathers in her eyes while the Thunder Legion's stomachs drop in utter dread.

In front of them stands a very enraged Laxus Dreyar.


	14. Chapter 14

**If anyone is wondering why a chapter is missing let me tell you. I decided to separate one of my chapters into two of my other chapters to delete it. Sorry if I created any confusion. I really felt that it would flow better if I did it. No content has been changed, just the layout.**

 **Thank you to everyone who has supported this story thus far. I hope to continue to have your support and love. Drop me a review to let me know how I'm doing.**

 **Hiro Mashima owns Fairy Tail and all corresponding characters. I only own the extra characters and plot.**

Laxus is walking through Magnolia on his way to pick up Lucy. After the long night and stressful morning he had, he needs the exercise to wake him up. He has cleaned his whole house up and is now fully prepared to bring the blonde bombshell over. Today might have been shitty in the beginning but it can only get better.

He is nearing her apartment when he hears voices resounding through the open window.

"No! I'm not denying anything! I am telling you the truth when I say that I did not seduce or hurt Laxus! We went on a job where we both got a little banged up. That's it!" Lucy yells.

 _The hell?_ Laxus wonders as he stops in front of the door to her apartment.

After a few minutes he hears Freed's cold voice, "Lucy, it is our opinion that you should stay away from Laxus."

Laxus' heart stops when he hears Freed's words. The shock is quickly replaced by anger and he grits his teeth. _Oh hell no. I told them to stay the hell away!_ He rips the door open and stomps up the stairs.

The conversation continues and he grows angrier by the millisecond. By the time he is in front of Lucy's apartment he is fuming.

Then he hears Freed's voice and he stops cold, "It doesn't matter what you say, we will not allow you near Laxus any longer. If you try to defy us, we will be forced to punish you."

That is the last straw. If those three think that he will stand by while they threaten the woman that has been haunting his thoughts, they have another thing coming. Anger turns to rage.

A yellow magical aura surrounds Laxus as his emotions swell. The magic expands until lightning buzzes around his massive body. The smaller pieces of lightning combine together and form a massive lightning bolt. It hits the wall in front of him and shatters the wall along with the door to pieces.

Inside he sees the Thunder Legion standing over a tied up Lucy. And here he thought he couldn't get any more pissed.

He glares at his teammates who are frozen in fear. "WHAT THE HELL ARE YOU THREE DOING?!" he demands in a roar.

"U-uh, um…" the three members stutter in fear.

Laxus marches inside of the room with heavy steps. "I TOLD YOU TO STAY AWAY FROM LUCY!" He grabs the ropes that bind Lucy to the armchair and rips them off without hurting the blonde woman.

Freed reaches out to his leader. "Laxus, wait! We can ex-"

A stray lightning bolt zooms off of Laxus as he turns to glare furiously at his team and skims Freed's pristine green haired head. One of his antennae like hair is smoldered off as Freed is frozen in fear, dread, and shock. Laxus has only come close to attacking him once before and he never wanted to make him that angry again.

Realizing that his emotions are getting the best of him, wanting to help Lucy, and _not_ wanting to see his teammates right now, Laxus takes matters into his own hands before he harms his teammates indefinitely. Because right now it is either he almost kills them and gives them lasting injuries or not at all.

Laxus yanks Lucy to her feet and into his arms. Within a split second he surrounds himself and Lucy with lightning and shoots off through the roof.

The Thunder Legion stares at the empty space where the two blondes were at a moment ago in disbelief. It is a few minutes before they break out of their stupor and start yelling about how they need to find Laxus and Lucy to explain what they were doing.

A bright light zooms through sky before slipping through a crack in the ceiling to the Fairy Tail guild hall. Laxus lands with Lucy in his arms in the center of the guild with a boom. Everyone stops what they are doing to look at the duo in surprise.

"Laxus! What is the meaning of this?!" Master Makarov demands loudly from his place on the bar.

Magical aura is still emitting from Laxus as he lets Lucy go. Laxus treads over to the request board and rips off the first piece of paper that he sees. "Ask the Thunder Legion," he remarks with a harsh, rough voice. He is so pissed right now that he feels like he will electrocute the first person who tries to calm him down. And he really doesn't want to do that. All he wants is to take Lucy and get the hell out of town before the Thunder Legion can bring any more harm to the poor girl despite him explicitly telling them to leave the matter alone.

He slams the job in front of Mira and silently commands her to approve it. She bears no resistance and signs the flier off with no hesitation.

Master and the rest of the guild grow confused at Laxus' answer and look to Lucy for some clarification. That is when they see her wincing in pain as she rubs the red marks that wrap around her body. It's obvious to everyone that Laxus is angry about whatever happened to Lucy. Something that has to do with Freed, Bickslow, and Evergreen by the way Laxus spoke. Master is about to ask her what happened when Laxus grabs her again and shoots off without another word.

Everyone stares dumbfounded at where Lucy and Laxus were previously. The guild doors suddenly slam open to reveal the frazzled and out of breath Thunder Legion.

"Has Laxus been here?!" they yell simultaneously. They have no time to lose. They must explain their actions immediately before things get out of hand.

No one moves an inch as they try to catch up with what just happened in the past two minutes. The first person to make sense of the situation, unfortunately for the Thunder Legion, is Erza.

Within a blink of an eye she changes into her Heaven's Wheel Armor and is pointing two dozen swords at her three guildmates. "What did you do to Lucy?! Tell me now!" she demands with a crazed look in her eyes. No one messes with her teammate under her watch!

Freed, Evergreen, and Bickslow begin to sweat as they slowly start to back away from the crazed swordswoman. Just as they are about to make a break for it, the door slams behind them with the She-Devil holding the handles. A crowd of Lucy's closest friends crowd in on the group of three with murderous auras.

They start to nervously shake as their eyes shift between everybody. All at once, the crowd dog piles on top of the Thunder Legion and ties them up with thick cords of rope.

Erza and Mira do not drop their swords or transformation as the Master walks between them to stand in front of the trio. He asks what exactly they were doing and what it was that made Laxus so mad.

With exaggerated tears rolling down his cheeks, Freed breaks down and spills the whole story. Upon hearing the green haired man's idea Erza and Mira release their magic but remain quiet. Master heaves a heavy sigh as he orders Mira to tell Freed, Evergreen, and Bickslow the story that Lucy told them earlier.

* * *

About an hour later, Laxus lands on the outskirt of a rather big town. As soon as Laxus releases her, Lucy kneels over and starts puking her guts up. Green bile burns the back of her throat as her stomach empties itself of its contents. Several rounds of vomit flow from her and she spits between each one as she tries to rid the taste in her mouth.

All of Laxus' anger dissipates the second he sees Lucy sick. He had completely forgotten that lightning teleporting makes Lucy motion sick in his rage induced retreat. Not really sure of how to properly handle a hurling woman, he patiently waits for her to stop. That's what she would do for him after all.

After Lucy is sure she is done vomiting, she takes deep breaths to soothe her stomach. "Wh-what happened?" she asks between breaths. Just a minute ago she was being interrogated by the Thunder Legion and now she is outside some town.

A small blush creeps up onto Laxus' cheeks and he looks pointedly away in an attempt to hide it from her. In truth, he doesn't know what came over him. One minute he was calm and relaxed on his way to Lucy's apartment the next he is steaming with fury and wanting to leave town. The only clear thought in his head was that Lucy was hurt and he had to help her. The rest was just motions. _And just when I thought that my day was starting to look up…_

"I picked up a job from the guild that will last for upwards of a week," he says with a frown.

Lucy tilted her head in confusion at the blonde male. "Why? I thought I was going to look at your collection today," Lucy says between breaths. Disappointment fills her up at the thought of missing her golden opportunity again.

"You needed to get out of town before the Thunder Legion ties you up again," he states after he clears his throat.

With a sigh, Lucy takes a final deep breath, "Thank you but you didn't have to do that."

"Well it's already done so there's no use talking about it," Laxus states to change the subject. He doesn't want to explain why he did what he did when he doesn't even know. "We need to go talk to our client."

Lucy gives him a frown before huffing. She looks around at her surroundings when she notices something missing. Both of her shoulders slump as she deadpans at fate's cruelty. "I don't have any of my stuff…" she mumbles at no one in particular. All of her belongings are still in her bag that is in her apartment. Why can she not keep her bag?! _At least I got my keys…_

Laxus' eyes slightly widen as he realizes that he ran off without grabbing his stuff either. But he has a feeling that him having his things is far less important than her having hers. Figuring that since he was the one to drag her out of her apartment, take her on a job, and make her sick without her permission, he should fix the problem. "I'll buy you whatever you need after we go meet with the client," he offers. Surely she won't need _that_ much.

Lucy blinks up at Laxus while her mouth drops. She knows she didn't just hear that right. She knows that Laxus did not just offer to take her shopping. It's just impossible. "Huh?" she croaks out.

Laxus rolls his eyes and walks away from the wide eyed blonde. He doesn't look behind him as he makes his way into town. Might as well go talk to the client while she snaps out of her trance.

Seeing as how he has no intention of answering her, Lucy quickly rises to her feet and runs to catch up to her impromptu partner. She has to take two steps for every one of his but eventually reaches him before they step foot into town.

"You're serious? You're really going to take me shopping?" she asks with a bit of apprehension in her voice. She honestly thinks that she misheard him and she doesn't want to look like an idiot by asking the man the wrong question.

"You sound ungrateful," he replies without looking at his shocked companion. "We don't have to if you don-"

"No!" Lucy interjects hastily. Laxus finally stops his quick pace to frown at the woman. "I-I mean…" Lucy fidgets in her spot. "I didn't think you were serious. I would really appreciate it if I got some new clothes. Just enough for the trip though!" she adds hastily at the end. The last thing she needs right now is to come off sounding greedy.

"Fine by me," he answers indifferently as he starts walking away again.

Lucy takes that as the end of the discussion and smile spreads across her face at the gesture. A light blush follows as she walks beside the tall man and admires the sidewalk. Her plans for the day were to go look at Laxus' collection and cook him dinner but now she has been literally swept off her feet, taken on a mystery job, and is going to go clothes shopping by the one and only Laxus Dreyar. She would have never predicted how this day would turn out but it might not be so bad after all.

 _Speaking of mystery jobs…_ "So what is this job about?" Lucy asks Laxus with a smile.

"Something about a bank," he replies.

"So, in other words, you have no idea," Lucy says with a tilt of her head.

Laxus looks away in embarrassment and huffs, "We were in a hurry."

Lucy shakes her with a giggle and drops the subject. Their client will fill them in on the details. Besides, there are far more important matters to address. Like where she is going to go shopping. Lucy looks around at the variety of buildings and makes mental notes of where some boutiques are as her and Laxus walk through town.

The downtown area is far more industrious than the suburbans that line the outer ring. Tall compact buildings are littered around the center and gradually disperse into shorter buildings and homes with land in between them.

The two blondes walk for thirty minutes as they head toward the banking district of the city. A dozen buildings of all shapes and sizes compose the area and they have to pinpoint the right bank from the flier.

Eventually they reach a large white building. There is one floor, few windows, and what seems to be two different businesses with a door on the opposing sides of the building.

The two blondes walk into one side and see a layout of a bank. A waiting room composes most of the floor with a receptionist at the other end. They walk through the spotless room to the receptionist. Lucy tells her that they are mages and that they have come due to a job request. The receptionist nods her head before gesturing for them to follow her.

Lucy and Laxus are lead to the side and down a hallway to a waiting room. A long mahogany table sits in the middle with eight comfortable swiveling chairs situated around it. They take their seats on one side while the receptionist tells them that she will fetch the owner immediately.

Thirty minutes later, two men walk into the room. One is wearing a business suit, has black hair, and a lean build. The other is wearing a doctor's coat, has blue hair, and is slimmer. They take their seats across from the two blondes.

"Thank you for coming on such short notice," the man in the suit says happily. "My name is Richard Focker and this is my husband Dr. Gaylord Focker. You can call me Dick if you want."

A thick red blush crosses Lucy cheeks at the names. Laxus scowls and internally groans.

"The reason that we have called you here is an important one. The local religious groups have been protesting and vandalizing both of our businesses as of late. We want you to make sure that no more property damage occurs," Dr. Focker says.

 _How ironic that Fairy Tail gets called to stop property damage…_ "Why would they do such a thing?" Lucy asks.

"There is a law that is about to be passed. By the end of the week, specifically. What we do is not technically illegal but it is not legal either," Mr. Focker replies. "It will allow us to run our businesses freely without any persecution and under the protection of the law. The vandalism has only seemed to escalate the closer we get to the date of the ratification of the law. The religious affiliates believe our work to be 'unholy'."

"What exactly is it that you both do?" Lucy inquires. What could they possible do to be under such scrutiny?

Dr. Focker is the one to speak this time. "I specialize in the institution of reproductive medicine while my husband's business is the cryobank to collect specimens for artificial insemination.

Lucy's eyes blink heavily as the rest of her freezes in surprise. Her mouth opens to confirm what the two men are telling her. "This is a sperm bank and a fertilization clinic?" she asks with mild shock and disbelief.

"Yes ma'am," Mr. Focker says with a bright smile.

Lucy's lips form an "O" in understanding before settling into a half smile. She has to bite the inside of her lip to keep from laughing. Well, this is unexpected…

On the outside Laxus looks completely stoic and indifferent. On the inside… he is vehemently cursing anything and everything. _Why does this fucking shit always happen to me? Fuck my life. Fuck this job. All I want to fucking do is show my goddamn collection to Lucy and have a fucking dinner. Now I have to deal with these fucking people who deal with men's fucking cocks all day long with Lucy. Fuck me. Fuck my teammates; this is all their fault. If they would have left it the fuck alone, I wouldn't be in this fucking situation. They'll be lucky if I don't fry their asses when I get back._

"That's very interesting," Lucy says as she tries to stay composed.

"All we ask is that you watch for any unruly behavior until the law is passed. The damages that we have had to endure have already begun to hurt our businesses. Will you help us?" Mr. Focker asks with pleading eyes.

Lucy gives the two men a big smile and a nod to match. "Of course we will. You don't have to worry about a thing," she declares adamantly.

"Thank you so much!" Dr. Focker says with a sigh in relief.

"We will get started right away," Lucy says as she stands up.

"Oh, um," Mr. Focker stops the blonde woman as he rises from his chair. "Please wait until tomorrow. We must inform the all of our staff that you have arrived; otherwise your investigation will be greatly hindered by our security," he replies with a small smile.

"Yes sir. We will get started first thing tomorrow then," Lucy replies with a bright smile. _We need to go shopping and find a hotel anyway. Oh! And I have to make my new contracts! Can't forget that!_ Lucy plans out in her head

The Fockers escort the two blondes to the door and with a reassuring goodbye, Lucy and Laxus leave the bank.

Outside of the bank Lucy turns to Laxus with a big smile. "So what do you want to do first? You wanna go shopping, get something to eat, or find a hotel? I want to make contracts with my new keys too."

Laxus rolls his eyes up in thought. "Let's go get the shopping done and eat before finding the hotel. Can you do the contracts in the room?" he asks.

Lucy gives him an unsure look. "Yeah but one of them is a dragon. I don't know if he'll fit."

Laxus cringes at the thought of releasing a dragon inside of a hotel room. The bill for damages would be incredible. "Then we make sure to find a hotel with enough room outside for you to do the contracts. How about that?"

Lucy bounces up and down and grabs Laxus' wrist. "Sounds great. Let's go shopping!" she exclaims as she pulls him toward some of the stores she saw earlier.

Back in Magnolia at the Fairy Tail guild hall, a sobbing Freed sits beside a howling Bickslow and a smirking Evergreen. Mira has just finished telling them about what happened to Laxus and Lucy on their trip as well as Laxus inviting Lucy to his house to look at his music collection. Needless to say, Bickslow found the whole thing hilarious, Evergreen is laughing but not near as much as the seith mage, and Freed is distraught. Although he can't decide if he is more distraught over what happened to Laxus during the job, how him and the rest of the Thunder Legion acted toward Lucy, or the fact that he disobeyed Laxus. A dark cloud falls over Freed as he mumbles his apologies to the rest of the guild.

Freed attempts to explain why they acted the way they did. Everyone understands where Freed was coming from so everyone forgives the trio. The Thunder Legion asks Master if they can go find Laxus and Lucy to apologize but he forbids them. The Master says that Laxus will need some time to cool off so they might as well just wait for him and Lucy to return. They drop their heads in dejection as the mope over to their table. Mira tries to reassure them that they will only have to wait a week. The news only darkens the clouds over their heads and Mira has to console a weeping Freed for the rest of the day.

* * *

The sun circles in the sky as Lucy drags Laxus from shop to shop picking out different clothes and items. Laxus selects one or two things that he knows he will need but everything else is left up to Lucy. Some of the necessities include toiletries, a pair of sleeping clothes, and two different outfits for her to wear for working. While not very much, it still takes time.

Most of the shops are specialty shops so Lucy cannot buy all of things from one store. That's why they have to go to multiple stores and shop around. The most important thing though is the magic shop where Lucy buys herself a new belt for her keys. It is brown like her old one but sturdier. She attaches her keys to her belt and walks out with a huge smile.

It is late afternoon by the time they have finished their shopping and went to an early dinner.

On the outskirts of town, they find a medium sized inn to stay the night. There is a large grassy park behind it with benches, flowers, trees, and flowery shrubs so Lucy should have enough room to make her contracts. The inn itself is very plain with the lobby on the first floor and three stories of room above it. Lucy and Laxus get a room on the top floor with two beds along the wall, a table, two chairs, a lacrima screen and a lacrima movie player on top of a dresser, and an attached bathroom. It's small but it'll do.

Lucy puts her things away in the dresser and bathroom. After Laxus puts his things away she bounces up to him to ask him the question that has been burning her tongue all day. "Do you want to come watch me make the contracts?" she asks eagerly.

"Sure, let's go," he says with neutrality. Outwardly he seems indifferent but deep down he is curious to see her three new spirits.

They walk outside to the middle of the park just off the park's walkway and benches. "Which one do you think I should call first?" Lucy asks her partner.

"How about the dragon?" Laxus suggests. What else would he pick?

"Alright," Lucy chirps as she turns away from the lightning dragon slayer. She pulls out Draco's key from her belt and holds it at arm's length. "I call upon thee in the world of the celestial spirits. I beckon you to my side at once. Pass through the gate. Open gate of the Dragon, Draco!"

A bright light spreads outwards from the end of the key before collapsing. The key then begins to turn to smoke starting from the end and quickly moving toward the tip. Lucy drops the key in surprise and takes a step back as her and Laxus watch the key in amazement. The small patch of smoke rolls over the ground as the key disintegrates.

The cloud has a small red light emit from the middle of it and a small voice is heard. "I live!" a small red dragon yells as he rises with his back straight and arms extended out in front of him. His eyes dart around as he takes in his surroundings. "So tell me what mortal needs my protection oh Master! You just say the word and I'm there!"

Laxus and Lucy's eyes go comically wide as they stare down at the little red dragon. They turn to look at each other in shock before turning back to the spirit dumbfounded. This…isn't a dragon. Or at least not one they are used to.

Draco is a small dragon, no bigger than a cat, and greatly resembles a snake. He has a long red, scaly body that has a darker red line of scaly spikes along his spine and tail, little blue horns on his head, long and thin ears that rise and fall with the dragon's emotions, clawed feet and hands that are not imposing at all, two yellow catfish-like whiskers, and dull yellow collared scales on his underbelly. Two large eyes sit behind his snout that has a large nose, wide mouth, and small sharp teeth inside. In other words, he does not look or seem like any of the dragons that both Lucy and Laxus have borne witness to.

"Draco?" Lucy asks bewildered.

"Yeah, let me say somethin'," Draco starts by waving the celestial mage off. "Anybody who's foolish enough to threaten my master, vengeance will be mine!" he exclaims dramatically while acting out with exaggerated gestures. Draco growls and hisses in a sadly portrayed threating position as he limps away from the celestial spirit mage.

Lucy deadpans at the spirit. "Draco!" she says sternly.

Draco winces at the harder tone and turns to look up at Lucy with big eyes.

"Sorry I didn't mean to scare you," Lucy says gently as she kneels on the ground in front of the dragon.

"What? I ain't scared!" Draco denies as he bristles.

Lucy holds up her hands defensively. "Sorry. My name is Lucy. I want to make a contract with you."

Draco's eyebrows rise as he watches the celestial spirit mage. A lightbulb pops in over his head and a wide grin spreads across his muzzle. "As in Lucy Heartfilia?" he asks.

Lucy smiles down at her spirit with her typical 100-Watt smile. "The one and only," she says proudly.

"I was hoping that I would end up with you. You should hear the gossip up there. Girl, you wouldn't believe what the gold keys say 'bout you," Draco replies.

"I can only imagine…" a shiver runs down her spine at being the subject of her spirit's gossip. "Anyway, where is your key? It kinda disintegrated."

"I am my key," Draco replies as he stands tall and proud. "The material of my key becomes ingrained into my body once I'm summoned. Since I am my own key, I become a physical part of this world so I can stay as long as I please without getting tired. I am one of the few who can do it. And I consume very little magical energy so I am a quite the deal," he finishes as he blows on his nails and rubs them on his chest.

Lucy's eyebrows rise into her hairline. She has never heard of a celestial spirit that can do that. It must be the same thing that allowed Capricorn to stay in Earthland for ten years. Except without an evil guy possessing his body and doing horrible things. "I see. That's amazing," Lucy praises the dragon.

"Well I don't mean to brag…" Draco chuckles while looking pleased with himself.

"What are your abilities?" Lucy asks as she pulls out a small notebook. She writes down all of her spirit's names, abilities, and available times in the notebook when she makes new contracts.

"I'm more of a lover than a fighter," Draco says smoothly. "I'm a guiding spirit. I give advice on anything my Master needs help with. I also have a particularly keen eye when it comes to fashion," Draco mysteriously pulls out a piece of fabric from thin air, "literature," he pulls out a book the same way, "and relationships," a big pink heart is yanked from behind his back. "That being said, I am available anytime you need me. Do not hesitate to call the reliable and wise Draco."

"Well isn't that just fucking great," Laxus drawls out. Of course he spent all of that money to wind up with a nonfighting spirit that loves to talk about girl stuff. As if there is anything else this little snake could do in his spare time. At least he's always free.

"You got a problem?" Draco asks as he throws his items away and puts his hands on his would be hips.

"No, I'm just saying that you're a runt," Laxus says nonchalantly.

"I bet you can't say that again you limp noodle!" Draco demands as he waves his tiny fist in the air.

Laxus scoffs at the puny dragon. "Runt," he smirks.

Draco tries to march over to Laxus and rolls up his nonexistent sleeves.

Lucy giggles at the two's interaction. "I would be carefully there Draco. Laxus is a lightning dragon slayer. Who knows what he might do to you," Lucy teases her new spirit.

Draco quirks an eyebrow as he turns to look at Laxus. As fast and quietly as a mouse, Draco scurries over to Laxus and climbs up the mountain of the man. Draco wraps his tail around the base of Laxus' neck to keep himself hoisted up to stand on Laxus' chest. Taking on a greatly exaggerated thinking pose, Draco carefully examines Laxus' face.

"What the hell do you think you are doing?" Laxus asks with a scowl.

After a moment of further examining Draco turns his head to face Lucy. "Are you sure that lightning boy here is a dragon slayer?" Draco asks Lucy, his voice dripping with skepticism.

A vein pops in Laxus forehead. He grabs the red menace by his midsection and tosses him to the ground. Draco skids across the ground until he runs front first into Lucy's leg. He falls backwards onto the grass like a cartoon that just got smacked in the face.

Lucy gently picks the small dragon up and cradles him in her arms. She scowls at Laxus and his rude behavior. "Leave my spirit alone. He didn't mean anything," Lucy defends him.

Laxus 'tsks' at Lucy.

Draco uncurls himself and looks between Lucy and Laxus. "Okay, okay, I get it. You won't hear nothin' from me no more," Draco reassures the two blondes. "I'm gonna hang out and see the other two. I want to see their faces when they figure out that we are out of that glass case," Draco says as he smiles up at Lucy.

Lucy returns his smile with one of her brightest. "Of course," she nods.

Without another word Draco slithers out of Lucy's arms and climbs up onto Laxus to lie across his shoulders. He stretches before putting his red head into his palm as he watches his master with a grin. Laxus looks at the small dragon with exaggeration out of the corner of his eye. Lucy finds the two comical and giggles.

She turns away from her new spirit and the dragon slayer to call out another spirit. She picks out Dorado from her key ring and chants the same verse as before but calls out the Swordfish instead.

A bright yellow glow shines from the end of the key. As the light fades, a man is standing with a hand on a sword strapped to his side, back straight, and head held high. He looks calm, composed, and high-classed…if it weren't for one little thing…

"A fish suit?!" Lucy shrieks as her eyes go wide. Laxus scrunches his eyebrows in confusion while Draco snickers beside him. _How exactly is this guy a swordfish?_ Laxus wonders.

"You rang my lady?" the man in the fish suit announces.

Dorado is a thin man in giant tuna suit. The suit is positioned so that the front of the man is sticking out of the bottom of the fish while his back has the top part of the fish surrounding it. The base of the fish suit extends past his groin and ends in a tip with a tail between the man's legs. Holes have been cut into the fish to allow for the man's face and limbs to extend through. The man's legs and arms are covered in tight black tights and he wears a black belt around the fish suit at what Lucy presumes to be his waist to hold his sword. His sword is no regular sword. Instead it is a fish spine with the ribs that has been sharpened into a sword.

Being the author that she is, it doesn't take her long to figure out how all of this makes sense. She slumps her shoulders and looks at the spirit in exasperation. "I get it…You're a fish with a sword. A _sword_ fish…" She didn't know what she was expecting but it wasn't this…

Laxus, with his great hearing, deadpans at Lucy's words. He spent five million jewel to be insulted by a puny dragon and then have word play shoved at him?

"Yes, you are not wrong. May I be forward and ask if you are the esteemed Lucy Heartfilia?" Dorado asks as he remains perfectly still and composed.

"Yep, that's me. It's nice to meet you," Lucy says with a smile.

"I hold no higher honor than making the acquaintance of the Princess of the Stars," Dorado says as she slides a foot back and dramatically bows. "What may I do for the humble princess?"

"Can you tell me about yourself? I would also like to make a contract with you if that's alright," Lucy says with a nod.

"Your wish is my command. I am a keen swordsman," he claims as he unsheathes his fish bone sword. He swings it around his body and does a quick spin before dramatically posing, "with the agility of a cat!"

Draco leans closer to Laxus to whisper in his ear, "It's ironic that he mentions a cat when he's supposed to be a fish." Laxus scoffs at Draco's joke.

"It is my deepest desire to accompany you on your journeys and protect your honor against the villains in this world!" he exclaims proudly with his head held high.

"Great. When are you free?" Lucy asks as she gets ready to write.

"I am available anytime except Saturdays. Will that be acceptable to you my princess?" Dorado asks as he stands straight again.

"Um, you can call me Lucy. You don't have to call me princess," Lucy says while sweatdropping.

"Nonsense. I will not degrade you by referring to you by anything less than your stature," Dorado says with determination.

"Okay…Anyway, the contract is fine with me. Is there anything else that I need to know?" Lucy says as she gives her new spirit a bright smile.

"No ma'am. Anything short of the truth would sully your name and shall never pass my lips," Dorado exclaims.

Lucy gives the spirit a big smile and bids him farewell. Dorado fades into a bright light and disappears into the spirit world. Lucy has a feeling that she has gained a very attached new friend.

"Is it just me or does he seem a lot like Freed?" Lucy jokes as she glances back at Laxus. Laxus rolls his eyes up in thought before cringing at the similarities. Even the compliments are the same. He's not sure if he should feel happy or bad for the girl.

"Alright, last one!" Lucy cheers as she pulls out Hercules. Just like the other two she chants the correct verse and holds the key at arm's length. A similar bright light as Dorado appears in front of the two blondes before fading to reveal another man. And just like Dorado, neither Laxus nor Lucy could have guessed that this is in fact Hercules. Both of their jaws drop from bafflement and shock as they stare at the figure in front of them.

In front of them is a man of average height. All that he is wearing is a dark red Ancient Roman skirt, gold handcuffs, and tan gladiator shoes. The part that has them stumped though is his age. The spirit looks a hundred years older than the Master of Fairy Tail! His arms and legs are thin, his hair is gray and limp, he has squinty eyes, a walking cane, and a horn that he holds up to his ear so he can hear.

"What? What's going on?" he asks dramatically as he squints at his surroundings.

"U-um…" Lucy mumbles out. She is so shocked that words escape her. When she thinks of Hercules, she imagines a handsome seven foot tall man with bulging muscles that stands tall and proud. He has super strength and can endure any trial that the gods send at him. Not a feeble old man for crying out loud!

Hercules sees two blurry figures and narrows his eyes to try to figure out who the people are. "Who are you?" he asks as he squints at Lucy.

Lucy is jolted out her stupor when the spirit addresses her. "Oh! Um, my name is Lucy."

"What did you say dear?" Hercules says as he holds up his hearing horn up to his ear.

"I said that my name is Lucy! It's nice to meet you!" she yells loudly as she leans toward the horn.

Hercules nods his head smiles at the blurry figure that he has deduced is a female, "Yes, it is a nice day!"

Lucy shakes her head and yells out at him again, "No! I said that it's nice to meet you! I want to make a contract with you!"

Hercules eyes go wide as he hoists his cane up like a sword. "The enemy has made contact! Where are those damn lions?! AH HA!" he yells as he looks at a bench. Somewhere in his muddled mind Hercules confuses a harmless wooden bench with a man eating lion. He dramatically creeps over to the bench with his cane in the air over his head as if he trying to sneak up on a sleeping lion. His bones and joints creak and crack and point in the odd directions as he slinks around the bench.

Lucy covers her mouth with her hand to keep from bursting out laughing. The whole display is hysterical. She should stop him before he hurts himself but a part of her wants to see the old man banging against the wood yelling for the lion to die. Behind her, Laxus is shaking his head with a frown.

"Take this you feline!" Hercules yells as he swings his cane down to hit the bench in the front. The front of the bench dents in from the sudden impact. The bench is lifted from the ground and is thrown through the air from the excessive force. Lucy and Laxus' inn is in the direct path and the bench hits the wall to the lobby. The bench bursts through the wooden barrier and splinters into debris as it knocks over the chairs that sit in the first floor of the inn. The manager of the inn and two customers lean over to look through the hole wide eyed.

Lucy's mood goes from happy and laughing to flustered and panicked when she sees the bench go through the wall. She waves her arms in the air as she reprimands the spirit for crashing a wall to splinters. Hercules, while not hearing Lucy at all, is holding his cane above his head and cheering that he has conquered the beast. Seeing that she is not getting anywhere with the spirit she calls out to the manager that she'll pay for the damage and asks if everyone is all right. Laxus and Draco are cringing behind the yelling blonde at the mess.

After Lucy and Hercules calm down and the manager has ordered some employees to start cleaning up the debris, she tries one more time to get the spirit to make a contract with her. Instead of yelling from a distance Lucy walks up next to the hearing horn.

"My name is Lucy Heartfilia and I'm a celestial wizard! I want to make a contract with you! When are you free?!" she yells directly into the funnel.

"There's no need to yell I can hear you just fine," Hercules huffs. Lucy puffs out her cheeks in annoyance but doesn't correct the old spirit. "Alright. I'll make a contract with ya. I can come visit any day of the week except Tuesdays and Fridays. Those are when my programs are on," Hercules nods.

"Thank you. I'll be in touch," Lucy yells without trying to sound hasty and rude. The longer this guy is here the more of a chance that he has of destroying more stuff. Sorta like Natsu.

The spirit hooks his hearing horn onto his skirt before fading away into small bubbles. Lucy's head rolls back in exhaustion and relief. Writing the last bit of information in her notebook, she stows it away in her new belt.

She hears snickering behind her and turns to see Draco with a clawed hand hooked around his mouth. Lucy shoots him a glare before marching over to Laxus and plucking the little dragon from his shoulder.

"Don't you think it's about time for you to go home?" Lucy half-growls as she narrows her eyes at her new spirit.

"Alright, alright, I get you," Draco says as he bats his hands. "Let me know if you need me again," he says before turning into smoke. The smoke morphs into the familiar key and lies in the palm of Lucy's hand.

Heaving a thick sigh, Lucy attaches Draco's key to her belt. "Well that was exciting," she says to no one in particular.

"Is that it?" Laxus questions.

"Yep, that's it. What do you want to do now?" she asks.

"I need to get some sleep. Didn't get a lot last night."

"Alright, sounds good."

Lucy and Laxus walk back up to their hotel room. Lucy makes a stop along the way to apologize to the manager and reassure him that the building will be paid for. As grateful as he is for the blonde woman's words, he would much rather have an intact wall.

When they reach their room, Lucy immediately gathers her clothes from the dresser. She tells Laxus that she is going to take a nice long bath and quickly walks into the bathroom without any arguments.

Laxus shakes his head as he hears the door click shut. Stripping out of his shirt, pants, socks, and boots, he throws the covers of his bed back. The hotel bed is firmer than his but not overly so. The lack of sleep Laxus got from previous night, the sudden departure from Magnolia, the embarrassing situation that he unknowingly got himself into, shopping all day, and arguing with a runt of a dragon has left him exhausted. A tinge of Lucy's scent lingers in the air and relaxes Laxus' muscles and soul. Sleep does not take long to find him and he drifts off.

An hour later, Lucy emerges from her nice, long, warm bath to find a sleeping Laxus. A soft smile spreads across her face at how peaceful he looks. It is quickly replaced by a yawn which reminds her of how tired she is. She follows Laxus' lead and pulls back her own covers and slips into bed.

 **Just a quick note. If you haven't figured it out already, Draco is Mushu from Mulan. I thought he would be the perfect atypical dragon so I couldn't resist myself. Thanks so much for reading and I hope that you have a great day!**


	15. Chapter 15

**Hello everyone! Just a few things; First off, I want to think everyone who has reviewed, favorited, and/or favorited this story. You guys are the best! Secondly, I am so sorry that I took so long to get this chapter up. School, work, and personal stuff just kept coming up and I had no time. Third, this chapter is more of a filler so not much action in this one.**

 **Please favorite, follow or review!**

 **Hiro Mashima owns Fairy Tail and all corresponding characters. I only own the extra characters and plot.**

The next day, Lucy and Laxus make their way to the bank. Over breakfast they made a plan to check with the Mr. Focker and Dr. Focker to inquire as to where non employees have access to their facilities. After they know where the building could be potentially hit, they will take turns alternating between keeping watch on the outside and inside of the building. Simple.

Once they reach the bank, they wait for Mr. Focker to arrive in the same meeting room that they visited yesterday.

"Good morning. I hope that you had a good breakfast," Mr. Focker greets them with a warm smile.

"Sure did," Lucy replies with a smile of her own. "Have you informed the security that we're here?"

"Yes. You should be allowed access in and out of the building at your leisure. Is there anything else I can do for you?" he asks with sincerity.

"Actually yes," Lucy nods, "We would like to see where any of public are allowed to enter inside of the building. We know from what you told us that the past damages have all happened on the outside of the building but that doesn't eliminate the possibility that they could cause internal damage in the next week. Better safe than sorry."

"Of course! I would be happy to show you around. Let me send a message to my husband so he can show you around the clinic later," Mr. Focker says as he stands up. He gestures for them to follow him as he leads the way to the first floor waiting room.

Mr. Focker tells the clerk to send a note to Dr. Focker saying that the mages from Fairy Tail will be coming over to have a tour.

"Alright, where to begin?" Mr. Focker says as he looks around. Turning to the two waiting blondes, he holds out his hand toward the row of chairs on the end of the room. "As you can see this is our waiting room. Each of our clients enters through those doors," he points to the front door, "and waits in here until they are called to the back."

Lucy and Laxus take careful note of the room. With the exception of the door, the windows are the only way in or out of the building. They figure that the glass can be broken pretty easily so they will have to keep an eye on those. There is also enough space for someone to begin breaking things inside. A guard is also positioned near the door so he can be of some immediate use until they get there.

Mr. Focker turns around and walks toward another door than the one they went through earlier. Through the door is a small hallway that splits into a two different hallways going in the opposite direction. As he leads the way ahead of the two blondes, he comes to stand in the middle of the forked hall.

"There are only two places that anyone from the outside are allowed to go in the back. One is to the offices where women or couples come to select which donor they want for their insemination. Those offices are this way," Mr. Focker tilts his head to the right. "Although there are no appointments right now due to the circumstances. We'll resume that side of the business once the law has been passed.

"Now to my left," Mr. Focker nods his head to the left, "is the only other place the public is allowed." Walking down the hall, Mr. Focker stops in front of a door with a 1 on it. Other doors line the wall with numbers on them all the way through 6.

"This is one of our masturbatoriums. Our donors come in here so we can obtain our samples," Mr. Focker says as he opens the door to a small room. Inside is a chair facing a small lacrima screen and small table next to it. Some dirty girly magazines and a pump of lotion sit on the table.

Lucy blushes at the name and purpose of the room. "Is it really called that?" she asks shyly as she lowers her head.

"Well the staff has other names for them but that's the official name," Mr. Focker replies with a smile.

Lucy takes a step around the doctor to take a closer look at the room while Laxus leans against the wall next to the door. Nothing seems out the ordinary and there are no entry points except for the door. In other words, this would not be a good place to start some kind of altercation. But it is a place nevertheless.

 _Be professional, be professional,_ she reminds herself. "So only one person is allowed in here at a time? And they're left completely alone?" Lucy asks in a tight voice.

"Only men come back here most of the time. When a couple comes in we can potentially make the exception of allowing the woman inside so she can help the man succumb to an orgasm. But that is the only time two people are allowed in. As for being completely alone, the nurses and staff are always around so our donors are never left unattended at any time. The staff has been instructed keep a look out for any suspicious behavior as well. If they do see something then they are to inform me or one of you immediately."

Lucy tilts her head and scrunches her eyebrows together in confusion. "You only let women help? Why can't a man do it?" Lucy asks curiously. What if a gay couple came in and one of them needed help reaching his end? Why couldn't his partner join him? It doesn't seem fair.

Laxus groans internally and tries to block out the conversation. No way in hell is he being brought into this conversation. No way. He would rather be dipped into salt and have ice poured over him.

Why does she have to ask these questions? He's got nothing against gay people. To each their own. It's just the topic that bothers him. This kind of shit is private and is something that should be restricted between the two people who are involved. It's not something that is discussed in public. He doesn't like people knowing what he is doing when he's in the guild or doing a job and he sure as hell doesn't want everyone knowing what he is doing in his bedroom. And it goes the other way where he doesn't want to know what everyone else is doing behind closed doors. But Lucy doesn't seem to understand that bit.

"If we allowed two men in the same room then we are risking the contamination of the semen. The sample we get back could potentially be a mixture of the two males or belong solely to the partner," Mr. Focker explains.

"Oh, I see," Lucy nods. She takes one more look around before stepping outside of the room to stand next to Laxus.

The door to room number 2 opens and man walks out holding a testing vial filled with white fluid. Lucy lays eyes on the man's semen in his hand and the image of the man jacking off inside the small room instantly pops into her head. Her eyes go wide and another blush spreads over her cheeks at the imagery. Making the grave mistake of looking up and accidently looking the man in the eye, Lucy squeaks in embarrassment and her blush deepens as she turns to stare at the floor. The nurse comes by to take the sample from the man and escorts him out into the lobby.

Mr. Focker looks down at Lucy to see her with her cheeks blooming red. "It's nothing to be embarrassed about Lucy. Masturbation is a perfectly natural thing," Mr. Focker says with a smile.

Embarrassment floods Lucy's system and she tries to further hide her face from the man. Her blush has spread to her ears and she doesn't want to be teased about it. It might be natural but that doesn't make her feel any less uncomfortable.

"All men and women touch themselves despite the stereotype that only men do it. Isn't that right Laxus?" Mr. Focker asks as he tries to include both blondes in the conversation.

Laxus gives the man an embarrassed disbelieving look before turning away with a blush over his cheeks. To have a stranger talk about him masturbating is just humiliating.

Hearing Laxus' name, Lucy looks up at her partner. She sees him looking pointedly away from a frowning Mr. Focker. Due to the topic of conversation and the power of suggestion, a new image pops into her head.

In the eye of her mind she can see a nude Laxus sitting in some kind of comfortable chair with his large hand around his equally large erection. Sweat is dripping from his brow down his temples as his head is leaned back. His eyes are clenched shut and quick shallow breaths pass through his thin parted lips. His hand starts from the thick tip and he squeezes himself harder as he slides downward over the engorged muscle until it hits the hard bottom. A wide purple vein slithers through the skin on top of his dick and pulses as more blood is pumped to the head. His hand begins to make the ascent to the top once more. He grabs himself on all four sides and gradually decreases the pressure of his hand as he nears the peak of his cock. A drop of precum bubbles out from the tip before exploding as he passing his thumb over the swollen head. Wiping his juice on himself, he makes another pass onto himself. A deep seated groan reverberates through his chest as he begins to speed up his assault.

Lucy pulls herself out of her thoughts before she delves any further into the imagery. She dips her head so that neither male can see her face from the shadow of her bangs. The blush across her cheeks now spreads throughout her face and down her neck. Her eyes are like saucers and her lips are pressed together in a tight line to stop herself from hyperventilating.

 _I just imagined Laxus masturbating! What is wrong with me?! I mean he's standing right next to me for the love of Mavis! I will never be able to look at him again!_ Lucy beats herself over the head with a bat inside of her head.

"Lucy?" Mr. Focker's voice calls out to her.

She hums at him but refuses to lift her head. She can practically feel the curious gaze of Laxus' green eyes on her and she knows for a fact that she will faint from an overimagination if she looks at him right now.

"Would you like to go to the fertilization clinic? There is nowhere else in the bank that you need to know about right now."

"Mmhmm," she mumbles as she scrunches her shoulders up in a pathetic attempt to hide from all of the attention on her.

Mr. Focker gives a concerned look but refrains from questioning her. He isn't the doctor after all. Perhaps his husband can give her a look over once they go see him. "Well if you'll follow me I'll take you to the clinic," Mr. Focker says as he walks around the two blondes and down the hallway toward the offices.

A door in the back of the offices leads into the back of the clinic. Mr. Focker leads them through a hallway until they reach a door with the words 'Gaylord Focker, MD' written on a metal plate.

Mr. Focker knocks on the door and waits to be called in by his husband. A few seconds later, the door opens with a smiling Dr. Focker on the other side. "Welcome. Are you both ready for the tour?" he asks the mages.

Lucy meagerly nods her head while Laxus does nothing.

"Alright, well on with the tour," he says kindly. He bids his husband goodbye before escorting the two blondes to the clinic waiting room.

"This is our waiting room," Dr. Focker says as he nods toward the room. The waiting room for the fertilization clinic is practically the same as the waiting room for the bank. There are rows of chairs near the entrance on the far side of the room and a receptionist desk on the other. Windows line the wall in the exact same manner as the bank.

Lucy looks around and notes that the entry points for the waiting room are no different than the bank waiting room. She almost mentions this to Laxus but the picture of him pleasuring himself pops up again and the air disappears from her lungs. A thick blush covers her cheeks again as she looks anywhere except at the lightning slayer.

Laxus glances down at the blonde female to see her looking around the room like a nervous bird. _What the hell is she doing?_ he wonders to himself in confusion.

"Continuing on…" Dr. Focker interjects. He begins to walk toward a door similar to the one in the bank. Lucy crosses her arms behind her back before ducking under Laxus' gaze. Laxus blows air through his nose in irritation as he starts following Lucy.

They are escorted to a hallway exactly like the one in the bank. "On the right is where our offices are located. I'm sure Mr. Focker has told you that we are not taking any clients right now so our offices are currently unused. On the left is where we have our medical rooms. That is where couples come to be inseminated as well as to receive check-ups. If you would follow me," he says as he begins to walk to the left.

They walk up to a door with a 1 on it and look inside the room. There is a built-in desk with medical equipment, folders, and papers in the corner and a flat treatment bed for the patients to sit or lie on. A small chair sits beside the bed and fluorescent lights shine throughout the room to make up for the lack of windows.

"All of the other rooms," Dr. Focker nods toward the other doors, "are just like this one."

Lucy hums to herself as she looks around the small room. Just like the bank, none of the rooms allow for an excellent point of entry. "Dr. Focker, are any of your patients ever left alone?" she asks.

"They are often left in the room alone while they wait for me to attend to them, yes. However, the nurses are always walking back and forth so my patients are never truly left without attendance," the doctor explains.

"And the women only come back here for their…" Lucy cheeks puff out as she stops herself from saying the word sperm, "…procedure?"

"Yes, that's correct; although we also do check-ups as well. We want our patients to be safe and comfortable throughout the pregnancy."

"That makes sense," Lucy nods and exits the room. She still refuses to look at Laxus in fear of how her imagination might picture Laxus finishing and ejaculating on himself.

"I'm afraid that I really don't have much else to show you," Dr. Focker states as he closes the door. "Unless you want to look at the other rooms, that is."

"That's alright, we need to go examine the outside anyway," Lucy says in a hurried tone.

Dr. Focker tilts his head at her apprehension but doesn't object. "You can go out the front if you like," he smiles at the blonde woman.

Lucy gives him a small bow before scurrying away down the hall. The doctor gives the lightning slayer a confused look but only receives a neutral look of indifference from the blonde man. Laxus doesn't say a word as he leaves to follow behind Lucy's trail.

He finds her outside the waiting room observing the placement of the windows. "I'm going to go look at the other side," Laxus grunts.

Lucy nods her head without looking at him. Laxus internally shrugs at her weird behavior, playing it off as her being embarrassed about working for a sperm place and maneuvers around the building. He memorizes where any points of weakness are in the building as he steadily walks around.

The building is pretty basic. The only windows are the ones that show the waiting rooms so everything else is guarded by brick walls covered in plaster and white paint. The roof is flat so it would be an excellent place to keep watch if they need to be outside.

When Laxus has walked around one side of the building, he finds Lucy on the other side. She doesn't see him approach and stand next to her. The wall in front of them has small puncture holes in it which Lucy is closely analyzing.

 _Must be where the people hit the building. Doesn't look like_ _much_ , Laxus thinks. _It shouldn't be that difficult to protect this place._

Laxus looks across the street and notices a restaurant. He can feel his stomach begin to ache with hunger. "Lucy, you hungry?" Laxus asks his partner.

Lucy jumps in surprise when she hears Laxus call her name. She unconsciously glances up at the tall male. The image from earlier flashes through her mind and she can feel heat gathering in her cheeks. With all of her willpower, she forces the blush down. She cannot go on like this. She is going to be with Laxus for the next week and she can't ignore him or blush every time she looks at him. No matter how many times she thinks about him masturbating, she will not fall prey to embarrassment. She will act her natural, charming self with no indications that she has ever imagined him naked and touching himself…hopefully.

Lucy inhales deeply and gives Laxus a firm nod. Laxus looks at her strangely before marching off for the restaurant. The air in her chest exhales and she deflates into a puddle of low self-respect. _At least he didn't ask what's wrong,_ she thinks as she drags herself across the street.

Laxus waits for Lucy to catch up to him before they go inside. The waitress brings them to a table next to the window. Outside they can see the bank and the clinic so they can keep an eye on them while they eat.

Lucy and Laxus take a seat at their table across from each other. The waitress hands them their menus before going to the front to escort another pair to a nearby table. Lucy looks over the paper for several minutes while Laxus takes about ten seconds.

The waitress comes back as Lucy finishes deciding on her meal. Lucy and Laxus order their respective meals and send the wide-eyed waitress away.

"Hey Laxus?" Lucy asks as she folds her hands across her lap.

He hums at her question.

"Do you know why the Thunder Legion tied me up? As far as I know, they were upset about me trying to give you love potions," she says in confusion. She has been wondering about his team since yesterday but couldn't find the right time to ask.

Laxus' jaw clenches before he sits back in his chair and crosses his arms. "I told them not to go near you. They were worried that you caused all of those injuries from our last job, among other things."

"So they really thought that I was trying to hurt you?"

Laxus slightly nods his head.

A small smile crosses Lucy's face before she looks out the window. "I guess it's okay then," she says quietly.

"How is it okay?" Laxus demands in confusion.

Lucy looks back at him, the smile never faltering. "They were just trying to help you, even if they were a little confused. Just goes to show how loyal and dedicated to you they are. And that's okay," she says gently.

She knows deep down that the Thunder Legion would never actually bring harm to her. Somewhere, somehow something got messed up and made them confused. They, in turn, were only acting on what information they had and they did what they believed was right. She can't be mad at them for that.

Laxus looks at her confounded. How the hell can she forgive them so quickly? They could have killed her and here she is forgiving them. "You're crazy," he drawls out.

Instead of getting angry, like Laxus thought she would, Lucy chuckles as she relaxes her cheek against her palm. "It doesn't matter. They probably ran to the guild looking for us and got caught up in the shock we left behind. They'll be lucky if Erza kills them _before_ she skins them," she jokes.

Laxus smirks at Lucy's observation. He didn't think about that. "Now that I think about it, that's probably why they haven't found us yet."

"Probably. Are you going to get mad when you see them?"

"I don't know. I'll definitely tell them to knock it off with the antics but I doubt they'll still be in the dark about our job by the time we get back. I bet they'll even ask if you're joining the Thunder Legion," he scoffs.

Lucy's face drops in surprise as her back shoots up straight in her chair. "Really?" skepticism resounding in her voice.

Laxus crosses his arms and shrugs his shoulders.

 _Join the Thunder Legion…_ Lucy thinks. Nah, there's no way she would ever do that. Sure Bickslow, Ever, and Freed are great and everything but she will always be a part of Team Natsu. They're her best friends. Not to mention that Natsu, Gray, and Erza will probably burn, freeze, or chop everything and everyone if she told them that she was leaving. Even the thought of working with a different team is strange. Would they work well together? Could they stand one another? What could she contribute to the team? She knows that she works well with Laxus but she has no clue about the other three. Of course this is assuming that Laxus is not overexaggerating everything and his team would actually let her join.

 _What exactly is required to become a member,_ she wonders. Freed, Bickslow, and Ever don't have a lot in common, aside from their undying devotion to Laxus and the fact they all have some sort of eye magic. Although she figures the latter is pure coincidence. Maybe that's it. Maybe they'll let anyone join once they know the new recruit loves Laxus. But then how do they know that the new person loves Laxus? Is there a test or something? That would be some weird test…

Laxus watches the female across from him take in his words. At first her face is one of surprise then she shakes her head at something she thought before her mood changes into deep thought. Before long, her eyebrows scrunch together and she looks confused at some thought she just had. A smirk pulls one side of his lips up. She really is an open book.

"Oi, Lucy," he says a little louder so he can interject into her thoughts.

Laxus' deep voice pulls Lucy out of her thoughts and she looks up startled at the man. "Huh?"

"Thinking 'bout something?" he asks with his typical smirk.

Lucy crosses her arms on the table and leans forward as she debates on whether she should ask her question. She figures that it can't hurt. "Yeah. Is there a test?" she questions her dining partner with a cock of her head.

The smirk drops as Laxus looks at her confused. "A test?" he asks dumbly.

"Yeah. Do you have to take a test to join the Thunder Legion?" she clarifies.

Laxus blinks at her in astonishment. "No, not that I'm aware of. Where in the hell did you get that idea from?" he asks in his growing bewilderment.

Lucy pouts and huffs out her nose. "It was just a thought," she defends herself. "I was just thinking that maybe Freed, Bickslow, and Ever would need a way to prove that the new member was loyal to you so they would need some sort of test. Plus Freed seems like the type of person to like tests."

Laxus frowns at Lucy's thought process, though she isn't that far off. Is his team really that predictable? "Well he does like to write but I doubt he would make a test. What would he even put on the damn thing?" he replies.

"I don't know," Lucy shrugs her shoulders. "Probably just questions about you."

"Like?" he drawls out.

Lucy moves her hands to cup her cheeks and rolls her eyes up in thought. "Well let's see…" She pauses as she can think of possible questions that Freed could ask someone about Laxus. She obviously needs to ask things about Laxus but at the same time, she doesn't want to ask anything too personal. The man likes his privacy and she doesn't want to seem like she is trying to pry into his business.

"What is Laxus' last name?" she states as she begins to list off her thoughts. "What type of magic does Laxus use? How old is Laxus? What is Laxus' favorite hobby?"

"That's it? Come on Lucy, everyone knows those things," Laxus sighs with a straight face.

Lucy pouts at the lightning slayer. She rolls her eyes back up as she tries to think of more difficult questions.

"True or false, Laxus is the most powerful mage in the world and he always will be. What is Laxus' favorite color? What is Laxus' favorite food? How long has Laxus been in the guild?" A smile spreads across Lucy's lips as she thinks about odder questions. "What is Laxus' coat size? Is Laxus a nightowl or an earlyriser? What is his favorite drink? If you could have any aspect of his personality, what would it be and why? List three reasons why you love Laxus. Would you complain if Laxus asks you to carry a backpack full of rocks up a mountain then swim through shark infested waters with the backpack to deliver a glass of lemonade to him on a deserted island?" Lucy chews on her bottom lip to stay her laughter.

Laxus shakes his head but a small smile spreads across his lips. "What do you do when you accidently cut the cords to Laxus' headphones?" he chuckles.

Lucy eyes widen comically and her jaw drops. A devious smile plays over her lips as she leans over her forearms across the table. "They didn't…" she whispers.

"Yep. Replaced them with a different pair and got me the premium Sound Pods to boot. Said it was from the goodness of their hearts. I was standing twenty feet away from them when they destroyed the first pair so I knew they were lying."

"You mean, you never told them? That's just mean," Lucy playfully scowls at him.

Laxus closes his eyes and smirks before leaning back in his chair. Lucy shakes her head at the man.

"You know…" Lucy starts but trails off. "I would fail. I hardly know any of those questions," she finishes quietly.

Silence fills the Fairy Tail table. The other sounds of the restaurant resonate around the two blondes: chair scrapping, silverware clinking against the plates and bowls, waiters and waitresses moving through the tables with surprising swiftness, and people conversing on important or non-important matters.

Lucy realizes what she just did. She just admitted to knowing nothing about her partner. An ache appears in her chest from realizing such a horrible truth. Deep down she really wants to get to know him better. Despite them being friends, they hardly know one another. But at the same time she doesn't want him to feel obligated to tell her about himself because of something she said. She wants him to want to open up to her, not force him.

Laxus' body stiffens and his frown deepens as he looks away from the celestial mage. Her statement strikes a chord within him. Not a happy, funny kind of chord but a painful, bruised kind of chord. All of her questions are simple and straight forward so he has no problem answering those. The real problem is afterwards. The real problem is when she starts asking the personal questions. Every person that learns the answers to the simple questions always ask more personal questions. The thought of divulging that kind of information with a stranger is nerve wracking. But…but…Lucy is no stranger. She is a guildmate and a friend. She would never harm him or tell one of his secrets. If there is anyone he could talk to, it's her. But that knowledge doesn't stop him from being hesitant. Old habits die hard after all.

"Black," Laxus whispers.

"Laxus, you don't have to…" her voice is soft as she gazes at him with gentle eyes.

He turns his head so his eyes gaze into hers. Green eyes pierce her brown ones and make the words on her tongue disappear. "Black is my favorite color and my favorite food is bacon cheeseburgers with no onions. I hate onions," he continues in a hushed tone.

A small smile caresses Lucy's lips as the ache in her chest turns into a light airy breeze. Her heart swells with joy now that she knows he is opening up to her on his own free will. "My favorite colors are pink and blue and my favorite food is yogurt," she adds to his statement.

Laxus nods his head while his body begins to relax. _One step at a time_ , he reminds himself. "My coat size is 48-42-30, I prefer nights, and I like most types of alcohol," he says a little louder but still relatively quiet.

Lucy nods her head and rests her elbows on the table. "Good to know," she says as she smiles warmly up at him. "How did the Thunder Legion cut your headphone cords?"

A few minutes later their food arrives and the waitress has to pill it up on their table and two others. The two blondes continue their conversation with Lucy laughing the whole way through Laxus' story and Laxus chuckling at the particularly humorous parts. He answers the questions she came up with originally and any other questions that pop up in her head through the dinner. They take things nice and slow so they do not feel pressured into anything. Some questions are simple, such as "Do you prefer homemade food or takeout?" (he prefers homemade), while others are more difficult. The trend as the dinner went on though is that the questions continued to get more and more silly.

Halfway through the evening, the questions start to become so ridiculous that both blondes consider their conversation a game. A game of How Many Question Can the Thunder Legion Ask on the Initiation Test. Eventually Lucy has to start writing them down from the amount of questions and how funny some of them are. The waitress comes and clears away the desserts in front of the laughing mages near the end.

"So you would rather see Natsu in a tutu than Gray?" Lucy giggles behind her hand at the imagery. It isn't hard to picture Natsu wearing a pink tulle ballet dress, complete with white ribbon slippers and white bows in his hair.

"His hair would match," Laxus laughs in a booming voice.

Lucy joins in with Laxus' laughter as tears prick the corners of her eyes. They both continue to laugh for a minute before calming down. Lucy wipes the stray water from her eyes before relaxing against her palm. "This has been fun Laxus," she sighs happily. She has learned so much about him in so short of a time, yet she feels like she has only begun to scratch the surface.

The corners of Laxus' lips quirk upwards as he relaxes against the back of his chair. As hesitant as he was originally, he is happy that he opened up to her. He can't remember the last time he had this much fun. "Yeah, it has…" he agrees. "How many are we at?"

Lucy reads over her list and looks back at her partner. "Forty-two. Pretty good for one day, I would say."

"How would you know what a good amount is?" Laxus questions the female with a raised eyebrow.

She pouts at him and crosses her arms. "Because I say it is," she says adamantly.

Laxus roars in laughter. Of course she would say something so innocent and childish.

Lucy playfully glares at him but eventually gives up and smiles. She cannot deny how happy she is right now. It might sound weird but she enjoys Laxus' laugh. Not his I'm-better-than-you-in-every-way laugh that he displays in front of his opponents but his perfectly relaxed laugh. The ones that only appear when you feel safe and content. The ones that lighten the soul and breath air into your lungs. The ones that make life worthwhile. So seeing Laxus laugh like that around her fills her body with joy. Her stomach flutters at the sound and her heart leaps into her throat as she watches him enjoy himself.

A faint, pink blush dusts over her cheeks and she wipes her mouth with her napkin in an attempt to hide it. "Um…d-don't you think we should be getting back?" she stutters out.

Laxus hums at her before looking over at the clock on the wall. "Yeah, don't know where the time went," he says as he motions for the check.

"Time flies when you are having fun," Lucy replies with a bright smile.

Laxus looks across the table at his smiling partner. His heart starts to pound as he notices how beautiful she looks. How her brown eyes gaze at him with open warmth and laughter. How her smile lights up the room. How the light hits her hair perfectly and makes it seem to glow in its blonde beauty.

Pain begins to seep into his head and he has to resist the urge to rub his temples. Why does he have to get a headache now? All he is doing is studying Lucy's face. There should be no reason that his head has to start hurting.

"Here you go. Have a nice night," the waitress' voice interjects as she bids them farewell.

Laxus quickly snaps out of his trance and snatches the ticket up before Lucy grabs it. She demands that she pay for her meal while Laxus refuses to listen to a word she says. She doesn't give up easily and the two blondes leave the restaurant with the smaller one yelling at the bigger one.

By the time that they are done with the tours and getting something to eat, both the bank and the clinic are to remain open for another hour. While they were eating neither Lucy nor Laxus saw or heard anyone suspicious enter either business so they know everything is safe so far.

Lucy volunteers to take the inside of the bank for the rest of the evening. Laxus doesn't argue with her and leaves to find a good vantage point on the outside of the building. After circling the building both on the ground and roof, he perches himself in the center on the roof. He has a great view of the street and everyone who enters and leaves both sides. Perfect.

Meanwhile, Lucy does a round inside both businesses before finding a break room in the back of the clinic. It is a large white room with a round table, five chairs, a couch, an arm chair, a small lacrima screen with an attached movie player, and various movies next to it. It is directly in between both businesses so it allows her perfect access to either one if she hears anything suspicious.

No one is present so Lucy makes herself comfortable on the couch. Looking around, she quickly discovers that she has nothing to do. Looking straight ahead, she contemplates sticking a movie into the player.

No one else is around so it won't bother anyone. If she keeps it at a low volume she will still be able to hear everything going on for her job so that won't be a problem. Plus she won't be so bored.

Seeing no harm in her plan, Lucy walks over to the small pile of movies. The first movie she sees is named Alien. It has a black cover with what looks like an egg in the middle and yellow goo dripping from it. Underneath it reads, _In space no one can hear you scream._ A shiver runs down Lucy's spine as she flips the movie over. The description says that it's about this group of workers on a spaceship and they are being hunted by this lone alien that they bring onto the ship from a foreign planet.

 _A scary movie…yeah, no_ , she thinks as she sets it aside. The sequels lie underneath it and Lucy quickly bypasses them as well. No point in watching the third one if she hasn't watched the first one. Right?

Finally getting past the scary movies, Lucy's eyes bug out of her head when she sees what is underneath them. Her face turns a tomato red as she stares down at the movie cover.

Two women are on the front wearing nothing more than whipped cream bikinis. Cherries sit at the peak of their breasts while they drizzle chocolate sauce on themselves with their eyes closed in ecstasy. They hold a shared banana between their two mouths as they try to swallow each of their halves in the attempt to kiss.

Lucy's mouth curls in on itself as she stares at the porn cover. Ever so slowly, she grabs the last scary movie and quickly puts it on top of the girls. She looks around the room as if she is trying to hide some big secret that no one should know about.

"Scary movie it is then," she squeaks as she finds the first Alien movie at the bottom of the pile that she made. If she has to pick between watching a scary movie or porn, she will definitely pick the scary movie any day.

In the attempt to forget what she has seen, Lucy puts the lacrima disc in the player and presses play. She settles back into the couch as the previews start to show on the screen. She makes sure to turn the volume down so she can hear everything that is going on around her.

The movie starts after a few previews. Credits of the makers appear over a black planet on the screen.

Soon enough Lucy is engulfed into the movie. She watches with tremendous interest as a large spaceship rolls across the top of the screen. The movie then begins to show the inside of the ship: the hallways, the control room, the engine room, and finally some kind of sleeping chamber. Seven white pods with people inside lie in a circle. One cover lifts up to reveal a waking man. The movie continues as Lucy forgets that she is on a job and supposed to keep an eye out for any vandalism.

Thirty minutes later, a frowning Laxus is searching for his partner. All of the staff has gone home and the guard is waiting for the two blondes to leave so he can lock up. Since Lucy is not in either waiting room, Laxus has to go and find her.

Thanks to his heightened sense of smell, he is able to pick up on a faint trail that leads into a room in between the two businesses. Inside he sees a wide eyed Lucy hugging her knees to her chest and staring at a lacrima screen. He can hear what sounds like breathing coming from the speakers in the screen and some guy saying that he is okay.

Laxus' scowl deepens when he realizes that she is so entertained by the movie that she doesn't even notice his presence. Better yet, anyone's presence on either side of the building.

He takes soft steps to stand behind Lucy to see what has snatched her attention away. He can see a man in a spacesuit carefully walking between yellow pods and saying that he thinks that he found some kind of eggs. Laxus instantly recognizes the movie as one that he saw when he was a teenager. If he remembers correctly, the thing in the egg pops out at and latches onto the guy in the spacesuit. An idea pops into his head and he can't help but smirk to himself. He opens his hands so they are outstretched above her head and waits for the right moment.

Lucy watches as Kane, the man in in the spacesuit and the second in command on the ship, kneels down in front of one of the eggs. An organism crawls around inside the egg as the top of the egg opens up. Kane leans back in surprise before cautiously leaning forward to inspect the interior of the egg.

Lucy shakes her head as she whispers to not go near the thing.

As Kane closes in on the egg, he sees no movement. In an instant a yellow spider-like creature jumps out of the egg and attacks Kane's helmet with an eerie, creepy screech.

Lucy gasps as she hugs her knees tighter. _I knew this was a bad idea. He should have never gone down there!_

The next moment, Laxus wraps his large hands around Lucy's face and presses them into her skin.

"AHHHHHHHHHH!" she yells as she starts to fling her arms and tries to rip off the thing off her face. In her panic, her legs start flailing around as she helplessly tries to run away from the alien attacking her face. A certain jerk has too much force and causes the rest of her body to violently roll off of the couch. As a last ditch effort she crawls away on her knees in a fluster to escape the lifeform that is trying to throttle her. She runs head first into the wall and reluctantly turns around with a bruise in the center of her forehead.

Her heart is pounding in her chest and she reaches for her keys before stopping when she sees the laughing culprit. "LAXUS! WHAT THE HELL?!" she bristles as her voice rises to a screech.

Laxus has his head thrown back and a hand covering his temple as he laughs in his booming voice. "What? Did I scare you?" he taunts.

"YOU ARE A COMPLETE ASS!" Lucy shouts in her anger. The voices in the background register in her ears and she rushes to pause the movie before she misses any more of it. "And you made me miss some of the movie too!" she continues as she turns back toward the male.

His laughter quietens down and he looks at his partner with his shit eating smirk. "Shouldn't you be watching for intruders instead of a movie," he replies between chuckles.

Lucy opens her mouth to scream at Laxus for being rude and cruel but quickly shuts it with a snap. She turns around with a huff and crosses her arms. "I was paying attention…" she grumbles under her breath.

He is right; she shouldn't have been watching the movie in the first place. She should have been keeping an eye out for any rioters or intruders. The movie is just so interesting that she couldn't help but get hooked. Everything else just kinda got lost in the background. Not that she will ever let him know that.

A deep throat chuckle reverberates in Laxus' chest, "Sure…We need to leave, everyone else has already. The guard is waiting for us at the bank."

Disappointment fills Lucy's heart at the news because now she can't finish the movie. _Unless I can take the movie…just for the night, of course…yeah, just for the night…_

Lucy eyes Laxus out of the corner of her narrowed eyes. "Everyone?" she quietly whispers.

"I just said everyone," he says as his frown returns to his face.

Lucy perks up at the news and she starts to giggle evilly. _No one will ever know…_ she thinks to herself. She slides up to the lacrima player and ejects the movie to put it inside of its box. She turns to Laxus with a sly smile. Lucy strolls past Laxus with a whistle to head toward the exit. Laxus shakes his head at her childish antics as he turns to follow her.

Lucy bids the guard goodnight as her and Laxus leave for their hotel room. Lucy has the idea to stop and grab some takeout so they, mainly her, can watch the movie without being disturbed.

When they reach their room, Lucy puts the food on the table and puts the movie in the movie player. "I'm gonna change really fast," she says excitedly. She wants to be comfortable for the rest of the movie and she doesn't really have plans to leave the room for the rest of the night anyway.

She grabs her sleeping clothes as she makes her way into the bathroom. She strips out of her regular clothes and puts on a tight cropped spaghetti strap tank top and tight short shorts. Over the day, her hair has begun to tangle so she grabs her brush and runs the bristles through her flaxen hair. She takes one last look in the mirror and gives herself a wink of approval.

Laxus takes off his shoes before lying against the headboard and staring at the lacrima screen. He debates on whether or not he should watch the movie or listen to his music. The mixture of the smell of food and Lucy's scent drifts throughout the room. It's so intoxicating but he can't help but think about how much he would rather smell only her scent than the food.

Lucy walks out of the bathroom at the same time that Laxus decides that he can watch the movie now and listen to his music later. He takes a long appreciative review of her attire as she bends over to insert the disc into the player and crawls into her bed.

Her shirt and shorts hug her curves perfectly and leave very little to the imagination. The tank top is so low that her huge tits almost spill out of the top and he can swear that she is, thankfully, _not_ wearing a bra. The shirt ends in the middle of her stomach where clear, pale, smooth, soft looking skin stretches and contracts as she moves. Her hips are scantily covered by a piece of fabric that can hardly be called shorts. It's low enough that it barely covers her ass and shows almost all of her legs. And it is so tight that he can see the outline of her panties underneath.

A groan threatens to spill from his lips as he eyes his partner and all of her assets. The list of things he wouldn't give anything to touch her is nothing more than a blank piece of paper. Even if he only got to do it once, he would do it in a heartbeat and he knows most of the male population would agree with him. Her smell has become stronger since she returned from the bathroom and it sets his blood on fire. Laxus can feel his member starting to stiffen so he has to stop ogling Lucy unless he wants a throbbing hard on straining against his pants and he knows explaining to her why he has one would not be a pleasant experience.

"Alright, you ready?' Lucy chirps in happiness.

Laxus grunts as he watches to lacrima screen with too much interest. In reality, he is just trying not to look at her and her body.

Just as she puts her finger on the play button, a thought pops into her mind. She narrows her eyes in suspicion at the blonde male. "Promise you won't try to scare me again," she half-growls.

Laxus twist his neck so he can give her a bored expression. Lucy doesn't let up on her gaze and he sighs. "Yeah, yeah," he says in a neutral one as he turns back toward the screen.

Satisfied with his answer, Lucy flips on the movie and settles back against her pillows. She has started it over so Laxus can see it from the beginning. She wasn't that far into it so it's not that big of a deal.

As the movie progresses up to the point that she saw in the clinic, Lucy hugs one of the pillows to her bosom. During the parts of the movie that involve some sort of horror, she ducks behind the pillow in the attempt to save herself from the Alien.

She glances over at Laxus to see him with a frown over lips and looking completely indifferent to what is happening on the screen.

 _How can he not be scared?_ she wonders to herself. _I get that he has probably seen the movie, otherwise he wouldn't have scared me earlier, but still! He should at least be a little scared! I'm sitting here about to jump out of my skin and he's Mr. Nonchalant over there. Maybe he'll get scared later. At least I won't be the only one…_

Thirty minutes later Lucy has begun to hide behind her pillow indefinitely. The yellow spider alien that latched onto the guy's face laid an egg inside of the man' chest and now this new alien bursted out through his rib cage from the inside! It then slithered away and has now grown into this black, eight foot tall, bipedal monster. It has what looks like a mixture of machine and skeletal plating covering its body. It has thin fingers adorning its hands and claws on its feet. A seven foot long tail that has a large talon on the end and spikes and armor scales along its length. The head is distinctive in that the top is elongated to its shoulder blades so that it is domed and oval-shaped. A small mouth is poised in the center of its face before it opens up and a smaller mouth extends from inside to screech at its prey.

 _This is why I hate scary movies! Everyone dies! Then that music plays and I just know that Alien is going to pop out somewhere! God, why did I have to pick this? Oh, that's right…It was either this or porn. I'm not saying this is a bad movie, it's really good in fact; I'm just saying that I don't think I can sit through anymore of this and not have nightmares,_ she curses herself.

Lucy glances over at Laxus and sees that he hasn't moved since she last looked at him. _How does he do that?! Maybe he really isn't that scared…_

Seeing the fearless man causes Lucy to have an urge to run over to the lightning slayer and hide behind him from the Alien. Usually Lucy would quickly discard any such thoughts but she is so scared right now that she would take a stranger over being alone. _Should I go sit with him? Would that be too weird? It would only be so I don't get so scared. Nothing else. No, that wouldn't be weird at all. Just finding some security in a friend. Problem is…how do I do it? I bet I would sound like a creep if I just asked to crawl into his bed with him. Or he will think that I'm some kind of nutty fruitcake._

Lucy's face deflates as she tries to find some way to get closer to Laxus without him thinking that she is crazy or perverted.

Halfway through the movie, Laxus rolls out of his bed and starts to head toward the bathroom. Lucy pauses the movie as he walks in front of the screen. He tells her that she didn't need to stop it but she shakes her head and gives him a small smile.

 _This is my chance!_ Lucy cheers to herself. As soon as Lucy hears the bathroom door click shut, she throws her pillow down and scurries over to Laxus' bed. She hugs her knees to her chest as she lies back against the pillows in the middle of the bed.

When Laxus returns from the bathroom he stops in front of his bed in surprise. "What do you think you're doing?" he asks with a frown. He gets up to go piss and now there is a blonde girl in his bed.

Lucy looks pointedly away from him as she snuggles further into his pillows. "I don't want to sit over there anymore," she mutters quietly. She knows how juvenile she sounds and looks right now but her desire to watch the movie without being overly frightened is greater than her embarrassment.

Laxus' eyes widen and shoulders tense. Now she wants to sit with him? Like, just sit there or is he supposed to comfort her too? Because he has absolutely no clue what to do in that situation. Could she really be that scared? The movie is nowhere near frightening enough to warrant such emotions. At least that's his opinion. He guesses that she doesn't share his thoughts on the subject. Of course that is assuming that he is not distracted by the woman when she is sitting right beside him. For God's sake, he was starting to get an erection earlier and she was on the other side of the room at the time! Maybe he should just tell her get back in her bed to prevent any potentially awkward moments that might… _arise_. But then again…It's just for half of a movie so how bad can it be? Maybe she really just needs to know that someone is right beside her so she thinks she won't be attacked by those motherfucking aliens. Weighing his options, he relaxes his muscles. "Move over," he deeply sighs.

Lucy gives him a big grin as she scoots over to one side of the bed. Laxus resumes his laid back position on the other side. A wave of Lucy's scent flows over Laxus and he has to resist inhaling the wondrous smell.

Neither blonde touches the other as Lucy starts the movie. She snuggles back into the pillow behind her as she gets lost in the movie.

Laxus tries to watch the movie but gets distracted every time Lucy squeaks, gasps, or cowers behind her knees. The sides of his lips rise as he chuckles. No matter how ridiculous she looks, she never stops being cute.

* * *

 _A woman with dark hair is sitting in a small space shuttle wearing a white robe and petting an orange cat. "Final report of the commercial starship Nostromo, Third Officer reporting; The other members of the crew, Kane, Lambert, Parker, Brett, Ash, and Captain Dallas, are dead. Cargo and ship destroyed. I should reach the Frontier in about six weeks, with a little luck the Network will pick me up. This is Ripley, last survivor of the Nostromo. Signing off," Ripley says as her final words. The movie pans to the outside of the spaceship where the credits begin to roll across the screen._

Lucy watches the final scene of Alien with wide eyes and a vice-like grip on the pillow that makes Laxus swear that he will see feathers poof into the air any second. As soon as the credits start to roll, Lucy's body relaxes and she leans against the headboard with a sigh.

"That was really good," Lucy says as she turns to her partner with a small smile. Even though she was scared for most of the movie, after she decided to sit with Laxus everything was fine. She didn't feel like she was about to be attacked or had acid spit on her. She felt perfectly safe right beside him and it allowed her to enjoy the movie.

Laxus nods his head in agreement. Despite not really paying attention due to being continuously sidetracked by Lucy's noises, movements, and scent, he knows that the movie is pretty good.

"You hungry?" she asks as she steps off of the bed to walk toward the table.

He grunts in agreement before doing the same. They take their seats on the respective sides and pull out the takeout containers.

"Do you wanna watch the second one tomorrow? It was at the clinic," she asks excitedly. Now that she has seen one she wants to see the others too. She knows that she will have to sit with Laxus again to truly enjoy the movie but she doesn't have a problem with that.

Laxus shrugs his shoulders as he takes a bite of his sandwich. Having Lucy sit next to him was not as bad as he imagined it could have been. It was almost…nice, to have her so close. A large part of him wouldn't mind being near her again and not be in an awkward position. He knows that if they watch the next movie that she will crawl back into bed with him. But at the same time, he doesn't want to sound like a desperate pervert who wants her in his bed. That's why he is going to go with what she wants to do.

Lucy smiles at him. "Great, we'll watch the second one tomorrow night. I wonder if Ripley is in the second one? Don't tell me! I don't want any spoilers! I don't think the Alien could have survived out in space…" Lucy gushes over her dinner.

Laxus silently listens to the woman express what she loved about the movie as well as her theories. Most of them are wrong but hey, who is he to correct her? She's gonna find out tomorrow night anyway.

 **So just a quick disclaimer. The movie Alien is copyrighted to 20** **th** **Century Fox® and all of the rightful constituents.**

 **If you haven't seen the original Alien movie, I highly recommend it. I am aware that it is not very scary but I thought it would make a good plot element. If you want a visual of the alien just look up the word "Xenomorph" and you'll see what I'm talking about.  
**

 **Thanks for reading everyone!**


	16. Chapter 16

**I literally just realized that I haven't told you guys how long I plan on making this fanfic. I'm not gonna lie. This is going to be a** _ **long ass**_ **story. I will be incredibly fortunate if I can loop it back to the first chapter by the fiftieth chapter. I'm serious. So if you're holding your breath waiting for that moment to come where everything is explained, you'll suffocate by the time it happens and nobody wants that.**

 **So I had some serious trouble with this chapter. I rewrote it three times because the characters felt too OOC and that's why this took so long for me to get this on here. This version is the most in character I can get them so please forgive any instances where Lucy or Laxus seem kinda weird. I'm sorry this took so long but school is almost done and I'll have most of the summer to write.**

 **I also want to give a shout out to Kalihell. She has begun to translate this story into French and I just wanted to say how proud and happy that makes me as an author. Thank you so much!**

 **Thanks so much for reading this and remember to drop me a line!**

 **Hiro Mashima owns Fairy Tail and all corresponding characters. I only own the extra characters and plot.**

The following morning, Lucy agrees to take the outside of the building while Laxus takes the inside. They agree to meet up at noon so they can go back to the restaurant they ate at yesterday for lunch and switch surveying spots afterwards. Lucy wears some of her new clothes which are a simple white blouse with a dipping neckline and a short blue skirt.

Throughout the morning and during her observations of the people leaving the clinic and the bank, Lucy thinks of several possible questions to add to the "How Many Question Can the Thunder Legion Ask on the Initiation Test" game that they have going on and writes them down on her notepad.

Laxus does multiple rounds inside both of the buildings and waits in the waiting room during his walkthroughs. During his rounds, he completely misses the curious looks of several women in the waiting room and at the nurse's desk.

When the two blondes go to lunch, Lucy asks Laxus her questions as they wait on their food. The last question leads Laxus to tell the story of how Bickslow got so drunk once that he was found naked on top of a buffet table during a feminist convention and almost went to prison for indecent exposure and sexual harassment. Lucy is holding her sides from laughing so hard by the end of the story with a smirking Laxus looking onwards.

"Gramps had to pull some strings to keep Bickslow in Fairy Tail," he finishes as he takes a long chug of his beer.

Lucy puts her face in her hands to hide her tears as she shakes from the onslaught of laughter. She is going to have a field day in teasing the seith mage the next time she sees him. The slightly concerned waitress drops off the check while Lucy composes herself. As per tradition, Laxus pays for the bill with Lucy objecting afterwards.

They switch places according to their plans they made earlier. Lucy heads to the clinic and does a thorough check of the place. She goes to the waiting room and tries to identify any suspicious individuals but finds none that pop out. She then goes to the examination rooms and finds no one making a scene or giving the nurses any trouble.

Satisfied with her search, she then walks to the bank to follow the same routine. The waiting room is exactly like the clinic's waiting room, no one causing any trouble. As she enters the area where the masturbatoriums are located a man exits from one of the room holding the desirable fluid in an extraction cup. A light blush flashes over her cheeks as she drops her head to look around at the nurses signing some paperwork off to the side. Seeing as how nothing is out of the ordinary, she makes her way to the employee break room to wait for her next rotation.

In the back, a lone nurse is sitting on the couch reading a book. Lucy takes a seat in the arm chair and leans her head back in relaxation. She eyes the movies sitting next to lacrima screen but makes no move to grab the second Alien movie because of the present company. Don't want to be giving the staff any ideas that she is some kind of thief.

"Excuse me," a soft voice says to her left.

Lucy looks over at the nurse to see her looking in her direction with a complicated look. Almost like she wants to ask something but can't decide on whether or not she should.

"Yes?" Lucy responds as she gives the woman her full attention.

"Are you with the tall blonde man that has been watching the building? The one with the big muscles and sleeveless shirt," the nurse asks.

Lucy's eyebrows rise before she gives a curt nod in reply.

"May I ask you a personal question?" she continues in her soft voice. "You don't have to answer if you don't want to or if I offend you."

Lucy gives her another nod as she wonders what the woman could possibly ask. She knows it has something to do with Laxus but that could encompass a lot of different questions.

"Would you have any reservations about letting your boyfriend donate to the bank?"

Lucy blinks at the woman as she processes her words.

…

It crashes into her like a table during one of the guild's brawls. Her face goes from porcelain to crimson red as she rapidly waves her hands in front of her face and sputters, "W-wh-what?! W-What are you-?! N-no! H-he's not-! W-we-we're not-! He would never-!"

"It's okay, just calm down," the nurse attempts to soothe the celestial mage.

Lucy takes deep breaths that borderline hyperventilating for a few minutes to calm down her racing heart. The redness in her skin has become secluded to her cheeks and the tops of her ears.

"I'm sorry, I didn't mean to startle you," the nurse says calmly.

"Why would you ask that?" Lucy demands in a hushed whisper as she watches her hands clench her skirt in her lap. God this is so embarrassing. Not only has this woman called Laxus her boyfriend but the nurse is talking about him doing a certain thing that almost made her faint yesterday from an overimagination. None of which is not good for her sanity or emotional state.

The nurse lightly chuckles. "We had a few ladies ask if he is a donor today. They wanted to see his profile so they could consider him as a potential candidate for their insemination. They were quite disappointed when I told them that he wasn't available. I just thought I might ask," she says simply.

Lucy's eyes bulge in their dinner plate sized saucers as she turns her head like a broken clock toward the nurse. "Y-you me-mean…" she mumbles almost incoherently. "They wanted his sperm?" she whispers like it's a big secret.

"That's right."

"Why?" Lucy asks incredulously and a look to match.

The nurse shrugs her shoulders. "I guess they wanted his genotypes and phenotypes."

Lucy opens her mouth to question the nurse on why anyone would want those but her mind begins to answer her own question.

It's obvious why any sane woman would consider Laxus to be a great candidate for the father of their child. Strictly based on physical features of course. He is tall, muscly, and has many defining masculine features. Really quite the contender in the male gene pool. And that's not even mentioning his physical prowess in magic. That alone is something to be coveted and definitely something to consider when a woman wants a magically powerful child. It makes perfect sense why any woman, in Lucy's opinion, would want to bear the man's child.

An image whirls arounds before filtering through Lucy's mind. Pure pink and white bubbles of sparkles and glitters shine around her and Laxus while they gently smile down at a bundle in her arms. Inside of the blue blanket is a sleeping baby boy. His hair is spiky likes Laxus' but is a lighter blonde like hers. He has a little nose with big eyes that have a single eyelash pointing outwards at the corners. His lips are slightly parted as he breathes in his peaceful slumber.

The world stops around Lucy as she realizes what she just pictured in her head. She just thought about how her and Laxus' child would look. Her face turns bright red as steam pours out of her ears. Her hands have turned white from clenching the fabric of her skirt so hard that the edge has begun to rip. The nurse gives her a concerned look before her watch goes off signaling the end of her break. She waves goodbye to Lucy, which the blonde woman doesn't notice, as she leaves the blonde alone in the break room.

Lucy takes a deep breath as she tries to calm herself and her blush. _As long as Laxus never hears that I was talking about some women wanting to have his babies, I will never have to think about this conversation ever again,_ she talks herself down. It is at this moment that one tiny, itty, bity reminder pops into her head…

He's a freaking dragon slayer! He's probably been listening to this entire conversation from the moment it starte— _Oh…my…god…_

Pure exaggerated horror consumes Lucy as her whole soul seeps out of her body and her skin turns a deathly pale tone when she thinks about what Laxus will say to her when she sees him later.

He's probably going to ask why she didn't shut this entire conversation down the moment it started. Or why she never corrected the nurse when she said that he is her boyfriend. How could she forget that?!

Oh god, she is never going to live this down. Never, ever.

She drops her head in dejection and as she slumps against the armchair. She rolls her head over to look at time and sees that they have another six hours before she meets back up with Laxus.

Which means she has six hours to figure out how to act around the man that she imagined having a child with while making sure no one destroys the building. Hopefully that will be enough time…

* * *

During dinner, Lucy takes an overly active interest in her menu. She reads every option three times in her attempts not to look at the blonde male in front of her. The waiter is the most evil person in the world due to the man's ability to take away her only form of cover and Lucy has to stop herself from hissing at the unknowing man.

Not seeing Laxus for six hours did her a world of good. She went from imagining a smiling or giggling blonde baby to pumping herself up for the second alien movie so much that she tried to steal it in front of Mr. Focker. It was not her brightest moment but her quick thinking quickly gave her an opening; which was simply her saying that she needs to go to the bathroom and she needed some reading material. Alright, it was pretty pathetic…

But now all she's gotta do is act like a certain conversation never happened and total pass off his question as if she has no idea what the hell is talking about.

Laxus looks across at the woman and scrunches his eyebrows in confusion at her. What the hell is wrong with her now? She has been jumpy ever since they meet up after the bank and clinic closed and he has no idea why she is acting like this.

"What's the matter with you?" he asks a little bit harsher than what he wanted.

His voice startles Lucy and she pulls the menu up as she slouches in her seat in a pitiful effort to fully hide herself. She breaks out into a cold sweat as she tries to think of some response that won't make her sound like a total idiot. "J-just checking out the menu," she stammers. _Way to go there Lucy_ , she says sarcastically to herself. "How was the outside of the building?" she adds quickly in an attempt to salvage some of her dignity.

Laxus shrugs his shoulder as he away from her with his typical frown and half-lidded eyes. "Same as yesterday, nothing new."

A few silent minutes pass as Laxus looks out the window while Lucy "examines" her menu for the fourth time.

Lucy peeps up from behind her menu enough to see the top half of Laxus' face. _Why isn't he asking me anything? Doesn't he want some answers?_ Lucy wonders inside of her head. The emotional frustration of not having him interrogate her is worse than him actual interrogating her. She can't take much more of this. Maybe she can lead him into the conversation in a very roundabout way that will in no way indicate her guilt.

She gulps before she nervously asks as she tries to keep a straight face, "Did you hear anything…interesting? While you were up there?" She can feel her heart nearly stop from embarrassment as her traitorous mind imagines her and Laxus' baby boy calling her momma. Maybe this wasn't such a great idea.

Laxus turns back toward her with his neutral expression. "Like what?" he asks flatly.

A small squealing sound from the back of her throat as she can feel her heart drop to her feet in dread. There is no way in hell, heaven, Earthland, or any other figurative or literal body of mass that she is going to out rightly say that she was talking about his sperm earlier. Nope, no way. "Just…anything…interesting…" she finally manages to say between opening and closing her mouth like a fish. She curls her lips inward as she damns herself for being so overly ludicrous and obvious.

Laxus cocks an eyebrow as he studies her. The woman looks like she is about to have a fucking heart attack or pass out or something. Not wanting whatever is causing her so much turmoil to push her over the edge, he decides to be nice and answer her questions.

"No, not really. I had my headphones on for most of time I was outside so I didn't hear anything further than ten feet from me," he says with a straight face.

Lucy's eyes go wide as she slaps the menu down in front of her. She stares at the blonde male for a good minute to see if he is lying. Finding no indications of such, relief floods her system and brings tears to the corner of her eyes as her prayers have been answered. Angels begin to sing songs of pure harmony as her worries almost literally grow wings and ascend to the heavens.

Laxus leans back in his seat as he tries to further himself from the celestial mage. Whatever he said seems to have made her feel better but now the look in her eyes is starting to make him very uncomfortable.

The waiter appears beside Lucy to take their orders, only to stop in concern as he sees the young woman happily staring off into space. He looks between her and Laxus before gently nudging her in the shoulder. Lucy comes back down to Earth as she feels a finger poke her. A bright red blush covers her cheeks as she realizes how much of a fool she was being. She ducks her head as she mumbles her order of spaghetti and hands the man her menu.

Laxus orders the whole menu and gives the waiter a glare when the poor man looks at Laxus like he's nuts for ordering that big of a spread.

As the waiter runs to the kitchen he wonders why he had to be the one to serve the two crazy blondes.

With her worries gone, Lucy moves on to the topic that she has been thinking about all day. She pulls out the second Alien movie to show it to her impromptu partner. "I got the movie," she says excitedly.

Laxus grunts at her enthusiasm. Now she's all excited? Where in the hell does she get all of the mood swings from?

For the rest of the dinner, they talk about the movie and their little game. Before they know it Laxus has devoured his entire meal while Lucy finishes her spaghetti. The dumbstruck waiter walks over to their table to give them the check but before he has to the chance to lay it down on the table Laxus grabs it from his hand when he sees Lucy eyeing it with prospect.

She puffs out her cheeks in irritation before demanding that he let her pay for her own meal. Her protests are waved off though as he lays enough jewels on the table for the total as well as a decent tip.

Lucy throws half-hearted glares at the man the entire way back to their hotel. She is happy that he is being such a gentleman about it but at the same time she doesn't want to seem like she is too dependent. Once they reach the hotel, they have to walk by the crew that is fixing the wall in the lobby. Lucy throws a guilty smile to the scowling manager as they pass by.

Just like last night, Lucy grabs her sleeping clothes and heads to bathroom to change before sitting down and watching the movie. Laxus puts the disc in the movie player, takes off his shoes, and lies on his bed as he waits for the woman to get done changing. He leans back against the pillows as he relaxes with his hands behind his head and closes his eyes.

Lucy joins him a few minutes later. She walks over to the comfortable blonde and gently pokes him in the arm. He turns his head to give her a questioning look.

"Can I sit with you? I don't really want to have to ask you halfway through again," she mumbles pitifully. She knows that she shouldn't be scared but she just can't help it. Those damn aliens are just plain creepy.

Laxus scowls but moves over without any argument. Lucy smiles brightly at him before slipping in beside him. She tries to avoid directly touching him but finds that she has to sit on the edge of the bed in order to do so. The position is very uncomfortable and she almost changes her mind about sitting in his bed but is bluntly reminded about what kind of movie they are about to watch when she hears the opening music to the movie. Hard, creepy, and hollow booms of deathly sounds set the tone for the room and all thought of leaving the man's side quickly dissipates into thin air. Realizing that there is no way around it, Lucy scoots a little toward Laxus to where she is not almost hanging off of the bed but has the outside of her arm slightly touching his own. A light pink blush spreads over her cheeks when she thinks about how this would look to someone if they were to walk in right now.

As the movie begins, Lucy curls her legs in front of her body and wraps her arms around her knees. She chances a side glance at Laxus to see him staring at the screen with an indifferent gaze with his arms crossed. If she is being honest, she was worried that she was being burdensome to the man when she asked about sitting beside him during the movie. He's been really nice to her and she doesn't want to seem like she is trying to annoy him in any way. Relief swept through her when he didn't complain and moved over to give her some room. Only to top it off with him not seeming to care too much about her barely touching him.

Deciding that he's okay with their current sitting situation, she turns back toward the lacrima screen. Her blush fades as the movie starts to engulf her mind.

About a quarter of the way through the movie when the military goes into the nest and starts getting picked off like flies by the aliens, technically named Xenomorphs, Lucy gasps and unconsciously slides toward Laxus more as she tries to find some sort of security. She curls against his arm and garners his attention while her wide-eyed concentration stays securely attached to the moving picture, not being able to afford missing a moment.

The movie is pretty good. Laxus has never been able to fully immerse his self in the world of whatever he's watching like most people but that doesn't mean that he doesn't enjoy the occasional movie flick. When he feels Lucy press against him, he looks down at the woman with a soft grunt and suddenly finds something a lot more interesting than the movie.

Pressed up against his arm is a scared busty blonde. Her shirt is low enough that he can practically see down the front and the abundant amount of her creamy cleavage available. Both of her knees push more of her breasts upwards to create perfect hills of flesh. Several strands of golden blonde hair fall across her shoulder to lie on top of her chest. The strands frame her pretty face. Her lips barely move up in down as they silently speak toward the characters in the movie, her pupils are dilated in response to the stimuli from the movie, and her breathing is slower as she waits for the upcoming scene.

For a moment Laxus forgets how to breathe. As a man who is physically attracted to the woman his mind can't help but get stuck on the image. God, she's hot. The beast inside him rattles against its cage and claws at his guts to get closer to the blonde beauty. He turns his face toward the screen as he closes his eyes and takes a deep breath.

Ever since the first day he saw her, he has always had this urge to touch her. At the time he passed it off as being solely a part of the whole mate thing. That's why he has always dreamed about fucking her senseless. But lately that's changed. Now he doesn't want to touch her just to touch her, he wants to make her feel safe and secure also. His heart begins to beating rapidly against his chest and he has to take a deep breath to calm his racing pulse.

Looking down at the woman an instinctual urge builds in his chest to wrap his arm around her shoulders. So he can protect her from her fears and to quell her anxiety. A twisting, knotting sensation overtakes his stomach as he thinks about her being afraid of anything. He doesn't like the image of her being fearful and it stirs an equally horrible feeling in his chest. That is why he feels that he must help and protect her.

 _You are going to screw up and be the bad guy in this,_ his emotional side counters when the physical urge almost becomes too great. The thought freezes up his muscles while simultaneously lowering his self-confidence.

However, the physical side makes a startling comeback and makes him reconsider helping the female. That desire is pushed down though as the emotionally awkward part of his mind clambers over his physical part in introverted panic.

He has never been in this type of situation so he doesn't have a clue on how to act and he knows he is too awkward to improvise his way through it. Laxus is more than aware that he is not the smoothest guy in the conversation department. Or the subtlety department. Or the being-comfortable-in-close-physically-contact department. What if he does something too weird and scares her off? That would be too demeaning and embarrassing on his part. They would have to finish the job while she avoids him at every turn. That…that would be terrible.

On the other hand, the physical side of his mind reminds him as it shoves aside his emotional stress, she is very consumed in the movie. If he succeeds he gets to touch the girl who he dreams about all of the time. Even if it is just a little bit, that's more than what he'll get at any other time. After all, no guts, no glory.

Laxus' emotional side makes a drastic reappearance though and quickly shifts his thoughts back to not touching Lucy. As fast as his lightning though, Laxus' physical side makes him rethink his decision. The two sides of him go back and forth as they fight over what Laxus should do in this one in a lifetime opportunity.

While Laxus has his internal battle, Lucy is so wrapped up in the movie she doesn't notice the man's suffering. A scene appears on the screen where the Xenomorphs begin to attack the vehicle where Ripley is located and begin to drip acid everywhere. Lucy squeaks in her throat as she tries to move away from the battle zone and presses further into Laxus.

The movement beside him makes his thoughts stop mid-argument and causes him to look down at the petite blonde. She looks even more scared now. The sudden burning need to help her arises in Laxus' mind again and he makes a split decision.

Ever so carefully, Laxus uncrosses his arms and gently wraps one arm around Lucy's small shoulders, making sure not to squash the girl under his arm's weight. His skin presses into her soft flesh and a small shiver of delight spirals down his spine. Laxus eyes the busty blonde for a few seconds to gauge her reaction. She doesn't seem to notice what he has done and that relieves some of his anxiety.

The physical side of him smirks in victory while his emotional side is nervously sweating. Laxus' stomach and heart are so twisted and fluttering with so many different emotions that he can hardly make sense of anything inside of him. It takes a great deal of concentration to focus on the lacrima screen instead of the girl under his arm. He is already taking a big risk touching her so casually, the last thing he needs is for her to find him staring at her also.

As time passes the nervousness in Laxus' chest fades. He begins to feel more comfortable and lets his muscles relax. Lucy has yet to realize where she is currently located as she stays firmly planted under Laxus' massive arm.

A Xenomorph pops up on the screen and she gasps in fear. On unconscious instinct she pushes further into what she distantly remembers is Laxus. Her shoulder gets crammed against something solid and she frowns internally at the discomfort. With a quick maneuver she turns her body so she is lying on her side with her face never leaving the screen. Her shoulder is able to push against the pillows so she is now in a _much_ more comfortable position. The remainder of her body is pressed against something solid and warm that oddly feels like flesh but her mind pays no head to that little detail.

Laxus freezes when he feels her move and allows the girl to readjust her position. A deep seated moan reverberates in his chest when she turns her body toward his and presses her soft curves against his hard body. When she finally settles he looks down at her surprised as he is prepared to ask her why she is cuddling with him but realizes that she is not paying any attention to him. His mouth goes dry as he thinks about how sweet and soft she feels against him despite both of them wearing clothes. Of course those thinks quickly change to how amazing she would feel without clothes if she feels this good with them and he has to immediately cease those thoughts in the name of sanity. He really hopes that this does not come back to bite him in the ass later but knows deep down that it probably will because that is his type of luck.

He takes a deep breath as he wills himself not to think any more about the woman snuggled into his side. It takes every ounce of willpower he has not to move his arm to push the woman further into his flesh or feel her skin under his fingertips.

As the movie continues, it eventually ends with the credits rolling across the screen.

Lucy lets you a relieved sigh to see Ripley, Newt, and Bishop got away on the escape ship. She turns her head to look at Laxus but instead she turns face to face with a black sleeveless shirt with fur trim. She blinks in surprise for a few seconds before everything starts clicking into place.

…She is currently cuddling with Laxus…

In all but three milliseconds, her eyes almost bulge out of her sockets. A sharp shriek escapes her throat as she shoves herself from the man. Her heart is pounding against her rib cage so hard that it feels like it is about to burst out of her chest. Unfortunately for Lucy, she greatly miscalculates the amount of bed space she has to fall back on and falls over backwards off the edge onto her back. With the elegance of a newborn horse, Lucy scrambles to straighten herself out before landing with her back to her bed while sitting on the floor facing the blonde man and breathing like she just ran a race.

Laxus looks down at the woman on the ground with a confused expression. The second he felt her move, his arm naturally rose to not prevent her pathway but he was not expecting her to freak out like she did.

"W-why were you sitting so close?!" Lucy stammers as she blushes profusely. Her heart starts to slow down now that she isn't touching the dragon slayer.

Laxus sneers at her before turning away with her with a huff and crosses her arms. This whole spectacle she is causing makes him feel like a complete fool. "You kept moving towards me because you were scared, remember?" he says lowly. He knows he sounds like an asshole right now but this is the only way he knows how to act in an awkward situation. He knew that this was going to come back to get him.

Lucy's eyes go wide. She dips her head as she feels her blush deepen out of embarrassment. This is what she gets for being such a scaredy cat. "You didn't have to hug me," she mumbles toward the carpet.

A thick pause fills the room before he gruffly grunts, "I was just trying to help." Laxus can practically feel the humiliation grow inside of him and has to resist flat out running away.

Lucy's eyes widen in shock as she lifts her face to look at the blonde man. She quickly turns her face away. Her blush has simmered down to a pink hue across her cheeks.

He tried to help her? It shouldn't be that surprising seeing as how the whole reason they are on his job in the first place is because he wanted to help her. She just didn't think he would go so far as to physically hold her. The most she has ever touched him was either when he was sick on the train or as she held his hands while she cried at the newspaper office. Most of those times he was hardly conscious and the only one in which he was conscious only happen for several minutes. As far as she knows, the guy is not one for close contact and does his best to avoid any situation that requires it. So for him to put himself so far outside of his comfort zone just to help her, she can't help but feel moved at the notion and guilty for yelling at him.

Not to mention the fact that during the entire movie she never felt terrified like she did during the first movie so being near him really did help her with her fear of scary movies.

"I…I'm sorry," she says sincerely as she peeps at him through her eyelashes. "I forgot that I sat with you because I was trying to avoid being scared. Thank you for trying to help me."

Laxus side eyes to woman for several minutes as he contemplates his response. On one hand he could be offended at her actions and regain some of his dignity. That, however, would lead to them never watching another movie again because Lucy would be too embarrassed and humiliated to ever want to sit with him again. On the other hand, he could play it off nonchalantly, lose some of his self-respect, and _maybe_ have the chance of continuing their movie marathon. Honestly, there is really only one good option.

"Forget it," he sighs. He gives her a serious look before continuing. "Just don't go freaking out on me tomorrow when we watch the third movie," he says a firm voice. On the outside he projects his mask of indifference but on the inside he is banging his head on an imaginary wall for saying something so stupid and forward.

Lucy straightens up at his words with surprise written on her face. "You wanna watch the rest of them?" she asks.

Laxus gives her a dumb look. "I thought you wanted to watch the rest of them," he says it like it's obvious.

"I-I do! I just-" Lucy pauses as she clears her throat and face of any redness. "I just didn't think you would let me sit with you again, is all," she mumbles bashfully.

"Like I said, just don't freak out on me again," he replies.

A small smile spreads across Lucy's lips and she gives him a firm nod. "Okay," she says strongly. Relief swims through Laxus' veins as his plan works out. His emotion side heaves a heavy sigh of reprieve as his physical side grins at the chance of holding her again.

Pushing herself off the floor she dusts herself off. "I'm going to take a shower before bed," Lucy tells Laxus as she takes the movie out of the movie player.

Laxus nods before leaning his head back against the headboard and closing his eyes. While Lucy is in the bathroom taking a shower, Laxus relaxes against his headboard thinking about how soft she felt. A thought arises in his mind that he didn't really get to touch her because of his shirt. If he was shirtless they would have had more skin on skin contact and he could have felt how warm and silky her body-

He quickly shakes his head to clear away those thoughts. He is on thin enough ice as it is so he really doesn't need to push his luck. The beast inside of his gut howls and growls at the idea of not fully accessing Lucy's luscious flesh.

Tucking away his instinctual protests, Laxus strips off his shirt and pants to go to sleep. As a method of calming his nerves he inhales Lucy's delicious scent and practically feels his muscles loosen. The memory of Lucy cuddled up under his arm with her body pressed against his side appears in his mind's eye and he sighs in contentment as sleep begins to overtake his body.

By the time Lucy exits the bathroom, Laxus is fast asleep with his typical scowl stretched across his face. Small hums of delight escape Laxus' throat and Lucy can't help but giggle to herself as she wonders what in his dream is making him so happy. Lucy yawns as she turns off all of the lights before crawling into bed.

* * *

The next two days follow the same routine as the ones before. Both mages wake up, have some breakfast, do their first segment of their job, have lunch, do the second segment of their job, have dinner, watch the movie, and go to bed. During the job no individuals ever make any kind of move to harm or destroy the building so Lucy and Laxus begin to wonder if the Fockers might have just been paranoid but they don't question their employers and do their jobs to the best of their abilities.

There were only two differences on the fifth day then there were in the first four days.

The first hiccup is when Laxus and Lucy are leaving the restaurant after their lunch. A very drunk man approaches the two blondes as he calls out to the "lady with the big boobs". He asks Lucy if she works for the bank by stripping for the men while they jack off and if she can give him a private show. Lucy is so shocked and repulsed by the question that all she can do is stare dumbfounded at the gall of the rude and disgusting man. Laxus has a different reaction. As he sees the drunken man reaching out toward his partner, an overwhelming urge to murder the man overcomes him. In an instant, the meat of Laxus' right knuckles makes contact with the man's sternum. The sheer force and power behind the punch shoves the air out of the drunk's lungs and propels him through the atmosphere over the city. Laxus takes a moment to calm down and turns to see Lucy look at him with gentle eyes and an appreciative smile. He clears his throat and looks pointedly away from her soft gaze.

The second difference that occurs in their routine is when the waitress that serves them during dinner accidently spills an entire tray of food on Laxus. The unfortunate woman apologizes for ten whole minutes while two other waiters and a manager are running around trying to help clean up the irritated lightning dragon slayer. Lucy sweatdrops at the whole display as she tries to calm everyone down. In the end, the manager allows them to have whatever they want from the menu and pays for their massive bill.

Once they reach their hotel room, Laxus immediately goes to take a shower while Lucy readies their movie. As the familiar sound of the spray of shower water echoes through the room, Lucy quickly steps out of her work clothes that Laxus bought her and puts on her regular sleeping clothes. Lucy leans against her headboard as she reads a small novel that she picked out when they went shopping the first day.

Thirty minutes later, the bathroom door opens up to reveal a sparkling clean Laxus wearing only a pair of boxer briefs. In one hand are his balled up stained clothes and in the other is his damp towel. He walks straight past Lucy as she ignores him by reading her book. Laxus throws his clothes and towel off to the side of his bed before lying down and pulling his bedsheet over his lower half so that his underwear and legs are covered.

"Oi," he calls out to Lucy to get her attention.

Lucy jumps slightly at the loud voice and turns to look at Laxus with confusion written all over her face. "What?"

Laxus' frown deepens as he gives her a bored look. "The movie?" he says it like it's obvious.

"Oh! Right!" she proclaims as she snaps her book shut. Lucy climbs out of her bed and crawls into Laxus' bed to sit beside him. As she moves beside him she finally notices his bare chest. For a moment she feels heat rise to her cheeks at the thought of touching him but then remembers her thought from earlier that day and instantly becomes indifferent.

The day after Laxus wrapped his arm around her shoulder, Lucy planned to be extra careful when she watched any future movies with him. She didn't want him to unnecessarily worry about her and be forced to focus more on her state of mind then enjoy the show. That plan, however, fell completely through when she got so scared during the third movie that she wound up right back in the same position as the night before. She almost freaked out again but remembered her promise that she would be calm after a second and gently pushed herself away from the hunky man with a bright red blush over her cheeks instead.

All during today she has been throwing around ideas inside of her skull on what to do about the movie sitting situation. One problem is how she was greatly failing in the don't-bother-Laxus-anymore-than-necessary plan. The major issue with her plan was that she can't seem to not be scared enough to not make him worry. But maybe it's not something that can be helped? Maybe she is just doomed to hide under his arm during every movie. It's not like the guy is opposed to it or anything after all. It never even seems to bother him in fact so it can't be that big of a deal. Maybe she's just exaggerating this whole thing and he really doesn't mind helping her out.

That of course led to her next concern. What if things become more heated between them and become more than just something platonic? The thought of have a romantic relationship with the lightning dragon slayer both terrified and exhilarated her. Then again, the thought of any boy liking her both terrified and exhilarated her. A flashing picture of the baby boy from two days ago flited through her mind and light airy feeling followed…until like a figurative lightning bolt out of the sky, the memory of how often Natsu puts his arm around her shoulder blindsides her. She literally facepalmed when she realized that Laxus was doing the exact same thing Natsu does, just with an actual, legit reason. All of her worries about there being some sort of hidden feelings that could manifest into Laxus professing his undying love to her flies away like a starving Happy toward a fish buffet.

Satisfied with her decision, Lucy forgot about her embarrassment from the situation and concentrated on her job of protecting the building.

Lucy starts the movie before lifting Laxus' arm up and wrapping it around her shoulders. She is aware of what she is going to wind up there anyway so she might as well just get it over with. Laxus looks at her surprised but all he receives is a small shrug from the blonde before she turns back toward the movie. A frown makes its way over his lips as he concentrates on the lacrima screen.

About a third of the way through the movie, a shiver of fear runs down Lucy's spine when she sees a Xenomorph spear a researcher straight through with its tail. She huddles more against Laxus in retreat. Once again her shoulder becomes uncomfortable and she turns on her side to get more comfortable. Like the other nights she is forced to slide her body against Laxus but she doesn't pay any mind to it as she focuses on the movie.

Laxus, on the other hand, notices the difference between tonight and the other nights. Unlike the other nights, he is not wearing his shirt so now he can properly feel her clothes and body pressed against his abdomen.

And it feels fucking amazing.

His heartbeat skyrockets as his mind and body pulse with need. He wants to touch her. He wants to touch her so _fucking_ _bad_ …but he can't. This is just a friendly-don't-be-scared comforting and touching her would immediately ruin that idea. Still…the physical desire to touch her remains.

His fingers impulsively stretch over Lucy's shoulder before pressing into the smooth flesh. A moan of delight vibrates in his chest as he finally allows himself to confirm how soft he always thought her skin looked. The thought of running his hand down her arm and feeling more of her skin makes his mouth go dry. Deciding that he can be a little adventurous he moves his thumb in circular motions on the back side of her arm. Just like her shoulder the skin there is so smooth that it makes his beast thrash against its cage for more. It's very little compared to what he wishes he can touch but he doesn't want to be too daring.

Lucy shifts suddenly and Laxus halts all movement on his part. A string of fear runs through him at thought of being caught but is thankful when he sees her watching the movie. He waits until Lucy gets comfortable once more and is rewarded when she presses her body even more onto him.

A groan of desire rings through him when her supple, ample breasts push further against him. Laxus' eyes roll up as he takes a deep breath to calm himself down. Once he is certain she is not watching him, his eyes drop to her tits and can begin to feel his vision become hazy with lust. The bouncy curves fit perfect against his figure and stir his instincts to grab and suck on the mounds. His fingers twitch in need and slightly slide down the front of her chest as they inch their way toward his goal.

The smooth pale skin under his fingers almost makes him purr in satisfaction when his conscious pops up. He abruptly stops his descent as reason out weights his desires. His hand slides back up as he internally kicks himself repeatedly for almost touching Lucy without her permission. No matter how much he wants her, he would never take advantage of her. Ever.

Turning away from Lucy he takes a deep breath as he pulls his hand back to rest on her shoulder. He will only be tempted to touch her further if he continues his observations and ogling. He tries to focus on the movie but the memory of Lucy's sweet body makes it very difficult for the lightning dragon slayer to concentrate on anything else.

Lucy shifts slightly again under his hold. "Hey Laxus?" Lucy asks quietly without looking at him.

He hums at her as he turns his face to look down at her blonde head.

Lucy slowly twists her head up to look him in the face. Big chocolate eyes gaze lovingly up at him as a soft smile graces her face. "Thank you for helping me with that jerk today," she breathes out in a hushed whisper. The warm air fans across the skin of his collarbone and cause goosebumps to spread down the backside of his arms.

Maintaining his composure and straight face, Laxus peeks down at the blonde tucked under his arm. "My pleasure Lucy," he reciprocates.

An unknown emotion flashes through Lucy's eyes. "Your…pleasure?" she asks in quiet curiosity.

Confusion causes Laxus' eyebrows to furrow. The noise from the lacrima screen begins to fade into the background as he tries to understand her words.

Lucy tilts her head slightly as she pulls away from his arm to twists her body around to fully face him. One of her legs kneel between his open ones as she pushes her chest against one side of his, lays her hands near his abs, and looks up at him at with big chocolate doe eyes. Laxus' eyes widen in surprise and he remains quiet as he watches and waits for her body to become settled. She gazes up into his startled eyes with her unblinking eyes.

"I bring you pleasure?" she asks innocently.

In all but one second the temperature in the room skyrockets. Laxus' Adam's apple bobs up and down as he tries to hydrate his dry mouth. Without breaking eye contact, he gives her a small nod.

The gentleness of her features never falter for a second as she studies him. Her eyes softly move over his face as they take in every inch of his characteristics; his strong jaw, his high cheekbones, the scar that is engraved into his skin, and the stormy glossy eyes that gaze at her with intense examination and longing.

Finally, her view shifts to his lips. Out of all of his features, they are what draw her attention the most. They call out to her deep seated primal sexual desire without ever moving. She shivers in pleasure at the thought of him saying her name in a lust induced haze. The thought of tasting him heats up her body and dampens the area between her legs.

Her body unconsciously presses further into his body as the air between them grows thicker with desire. A sharp intake of air flows through Laxus' lungs as Lucy's eyes flutter close. His eyes droop as she closes the distance between their lips.

Her soft lips press against his hard ones in a gentle kiss. Their lips mold together as they move against one another in a sensual dance. Small hums of satisfaction slip from Lucy's throat as Laxus moves his hands to Lucy's waist. The edge of her shirt presses into his fingertips as he skims over the fabric.

Lucy opens her mouth as she runs her hand up Laxus' chest and throat to thread into his hair. Her tongue presses past her lips and teasingly tastes his lips. She runs her tongue along the seam of his lips and moans at taste of bourbon from their dinner. By applying a little more pressure, she barely slips her tongue past the edge of his lips.

A groan reverberates through Laxus as he obliges her silent request. He opens his mouth and allows her to taste him. She starts by tasting the inside of his lips before steadily moving to the side to fully explore his mouth. It's slow and precise and he tries to not interrupt her in her delicious investigation despite his want to plunder her mouth with his own tongue. He can feel an erection begin to push against the layer of his boxer briefs but he can't bring himself to care.

If Lucy thought that she could taste him before, her taste buds have been overloaded with him now. She tugs harshly on his hair as she pulls him deeper into the kiss. She just can't get enough of this man's flavor. The taste of bourbon, steak, limes, and rain layer over one another as she steadily explores every inch of his mouth.

The need for air becomes overwhelming as Lucy pulls away just enough for the center of their lips to remain touching while the corners separate. They suck in ragged breaths through the detached sections of their lips before crashing them fully back together.

Her shirt slightly scrunches up from the friction as his hand moves from her waist to her shoulder blades. He feels the soft skin directly under her neck before sliding his hands to her sides, carefully making sure to graze the side of her breast as he drags his hands back down to her waist. He repeats this cycle until a groan of satisfaction from Lucy echoes in his mouth.

Laxus carefully flips them over so he is resting between her spread legs. His hands hold his massive body over hers as he spreads and clenches his hands on the sheets near her head. Lucy lifts her thighs to wrap around Laxus' waist to pulls him closer, needing that intimate contact in their most intimate regions.

Both of their tongues never stop mingling throughout the movement. Lucy and Laxus moan simultaneously at the combined feeling of the other's wonderful mouth and how the bulge in his boxer briefs is pressed so deliciously her clothed womanhood. The new position brings them some relief from the burning in the pit of their loins but at the same time it makes them more needy. Much, much more needy.

He pulls his lips away from hers and trails down her slender throat. In the center is the softer skin and he takes a gracious amount of time licking and sucking on the sensitive flesh. Little mewls of approval escape her throat as he proceeds further down the column of her neck while gripping his hair harder as she scrapes her nails along his scalp.

As he reaches the bottom, he licks the dip between her collarbones. She squirms from the feeling and rubs her body along his. He feels his dick begin to make a full tent in his underwear as he groans from the supple body underneath him. He drags his lips over to where her shoulder meets her neck and begins to suck and nibble on the muscle.

Laxus does an experimental roll of his hips and grinds his erection onto her covered clit. An immediate response explodes from Lucy as she arches her back and pushes her abundant chest into his broad chest. She slides her hands from his hair down to his wide shoulders and massages the tough, strong muscles.

"Oh, Laxus," she moans as she tips her head back into the pillow. "That…felt…so good," she breathily sighs between pants.

"Does it?" he teases as he gives another roll. Another arch of her back presses her tits against him as a soft gasp slips between her luscious lips. Her fingers are working wonders on his shoulders and he pulls his head back from her neck to moan at the feeling. A thick cloud of arousal is starting to permeate the air and sends his olfactory senses into overdrive.

All he receives is a sharp gasp and a feverish nod from the blonde woman. She begins to pant again as he continues to thrust into her. The ache and longing of her pussy causes warm fluid to pool in Lucy's lower region as she gets lost in a haze of teasing stimulated pleasure. She starts squirming underneath him in order to get closer to the huge male, anything to have her complete satisfaction.

Her fingertips push down into the top of his back and bury into the grooves in between his muscles. He groans in frustrated pleasure as he moves one of his hands to tightly grasp her hip before he makes a hard thrust with his hips. The tip of his penis presses through her thin shorts and damp underwear into the opening of her vagina.

"Laxus…please…more…" she moans as she raises her hips to meet each of his thrusts. Every pass he makes onto her both relieves and heightens her arousal. Just having the small piece of him teasing her puts her on edge and makes her insides clench in anticipation for when he will fully stretch her out.

A feral grin spreads over his lips as he looks down at the woman pinned to the bed while continuing to ram his clothed dick into her. Her skin has a pleasant pink tint, chocolate eyes half lidded in lust, soft pink lips parted as small puffs air exhales over his own, sweat beginning to perspire on her skin to drip on to the sheets and pool in the small crevices at the bottom of her neck. The image makes him lick his dry lips in want.

To add to her pleasurable suffering, he slides his hand on her hip under her shirt at a slow tantalizing pace toward her breast at the same time that he dips his lips to graze against her exposed cleavage. The closer his fingers get to her breasts, the more she squirms in her vain attempt to make him go faster. To make him release some of this tension that is growing between her thighs.

After the longest minute of her life passes, she suddenly feels the tips of his fingertips graze the underside of her boob. A groan of approval gurgles from her throat as he slides one hand around her massive fleshy orb and licks around the outside of the top of her cleavage that spills out of her shirt.

He responds with his own groan as he takes his time to fully enjoy her soft body with his hand. Two small prominent bumps are protruding through her shirt at the top of her tits. Drool forms at the corners of Laxus' mouth at the prospect of his tongue lathering the sweet tips with his saliva. And how he will…but not yet. Right now, he wants her to get so frustrated and wet that she will practically beg him to fuck her senseless.

He starts with the bottom of her chest before moving to the sides. He has to be precise in his exploration so not to touch her erect nipple, which is no easy feat as the delicate tip is begging for his attention.

"Do I feel good Laxus?" Lucy's sweet voice breaks through his concentration. He looks up to see her peering down at him with glassy eyes that shine with restrained desire. The picture makes his dick twitch in his boxer briefs and a cruel grin to spread over his lips.

"You feel fucking amazing Lucy," he huskily pants as he squeezes her breast on one side and licks and sucks on the other while maintain eye contact. "And don't worry…I'm going to make sure you feel even," he pinches her nipple between his thumb and for forefinger, " _better_."

Lucy arches her back and digs her nails into his back as the pleasure of him finally touching her erect peak sends a blast of euphoria through her spine.

Laxus hisses through his gritted teeth as the pleasure-pain of her nails in his back and her arching her chest further into his hand and mouth. It makes him want to rip off her clothes and ram himself so far into her that he slides into her uterus. The thought is so tempting that he can begin to feel a bit of pre-cum drip out of his tip and onto his boxer briefs.

 _KNOCK, KNOCK, KNOCK!_

Lucy shrieks in horror as she jumps in surprise from her sitting position beside Laxus and startles the man from his fantasy. Still engrossed in the movie she backs up against Laxus' chest as a source of safety. Her heart starts to pound in her chest as she thinks up a plan on how to vanquish the alien that banged on her hotel room door.

Everything comes into view for the lightning slayer when he feels Lucy press further against him. A strong pulse from his groin blatantly reminds him that he has a raging hard on for the girl that is a hair breaths away from discovering his _engorged_ secret. Much to his stress, he quickly realizes that his hand have somehow slid down from her shoulder and are now wrapped around her soft curvy body. It rests on her stomach, just under the bottom of her breast. A sudden urge spurs through him to lift his hand to cope a quick feel and it takes a great deal of willpower for him to shove that desire back down. Very carefully he slides his hand down to her side where he is nowhere near the temptation zone. A growl of disapproval rings thorough his body from his instincts at not letting himself divulge in the woman's sweet, luscious body.

 _KNOCK, KNOCK, KNOCK!_

"Lucy! Laxus! Can you hear me?! It's Dr. Focker!" his voice filters through the door.

Hearing the man's voice Lucy lets out a huge sigh of relief. She is so happy that Xenomorphs haven't come to take her and Laxus back to their nest to use them as a vessel for growing their embryos. She crawls across and off the bed to go answer the door.

Laxus takes this opportunity to roll out of bed and snatch up his pants and shirt. He quickly throws them on but not before he adjusts his still hardened length. His head and heart are pounding from how close he was to being caught.

"Yes?" Lucy asks as she opens the door to see the frantic Dr. Focker.

"You must come quickly! Some thugs are attacking the clinic! Please hurry!" he says in one breath.

Lucy gives him a determined nod as he face drops into a serious expression. She jogs back inside the room to throw on her boots and belt, not bothering to change clothes due to how long it would take. Laxus, hearing the conversation from the beginning, is already dressed and waiting for her with his typical frown spread across his lips. Lucy notices how he is wearing the shirt with the food stain on it and makes a mental note to talk to him about that.

With her things secure, Lucy follows Dr. Focker out of the room with Laxus only a step behind her.

The trio runs across town to the bank and clinic. As the building comes into view, both blondes and the doctor see a group of four men throwing stones and hitting the building with sledgehammers.

Lucy yells for the men to stop as she pulls out Taurus' Key. Laxus and her get a good look at the thugs' faces as they race towards them.

When the men see the approaching group they drop their weapons and scatter in all directions.

Thinking on his feet, Laxus sends several bolts of lightning in the direction of the fleeing convicts. Only a couple hit their targets while the others miss by a slim margin. The two men who are struck instantly hit the ground with their muscles twitching from the overload of electricity.

Lucy quickly switches keys to call out Virgo. Once the maid appears Lucy instructs her to tie up the felons so she can take them to the police. Within a blink of an eye, Virgo has chained the two culprits together and made them easy to transport. Laxus tells Lucy that they need to follow the other two as quickly as possible before they lose their trails. Agreeing with her partner, Lucy tells Dr. Focker to wait for them inside the building and that they will return once all four men are in custody.

Without further ado, Lucy runs in the direction of one of the escaped men while Laxus runs in the other.

Throughout the night the two blondes scour the city for the two missing men.

Laxus is fortunate as his chosen man is stupid enough to run into a bar and pick a fight with a drunk. It takes almost no time for the dragon slayer to pick the guy up from having his face punched in and carries him to be tied up with his friends. Once Laxus is sure that the third guy won't be going anywhere, which involves him shocking him until the man can't feel his legs anymore, Laxus heads in the direction Lucy went.

Lucy is not as fortunate as Laxus. The guy she decided to chase is a sneaky rat bastard. She calls out three different spirits one at a time in hopes that each one might have some luck in catching the felon but none of them succeed. Even when Laxus comes to her aid they have a tremendously hard time pinpointing the guy and grabbing him. Every time they come close, the man manages to find a single opening to escape through. If there is a contest for slipping through Lucy and Laxus' fingers, this guy would take home the gold.

This trend continues for hours until the light of daybreak begins to arise over the horizon. They finally apprehend him after Lucy has Aries set up a wall of wool to trap the guy as he runs out of an alley. Ecstatic that her plan worked, Lucy quickly calls out Virgo to chain the thug up.

Now that they have caught all of the punks, they haul them off to the police station. The police are more than happy to take them due to each of the culprits having previous records.

As Lucy and Laxus walk back to the bank and clinic to deliver the good news, a new view comes into sight. In front and around the building is a rally of people, around three hundred all crowded around the entrances and sides. They hold signs and chant different verses that all oppose the type of businesses that the Fockers run. Things like: "Unnatural!", "Goes against God's Law!", and "Sinners making sinners!" are some of the phrases that are being yelled. The local police have been stationed around the building and are keeping the protesters in line…so far.

Lucy gasps in shock at the size of the crowd. She thought that it was only a few people that had a problem with the bank and the clinic so to see all of these people vehemently protesting the businesses is startling.

"Let's go make sure they don't cause any damage," Laxus says seriously as he looks down at his partner.

Lucy shakes her head to clear any unnecessary thoughts, this is what they were hired to do and she needs to stay focused. Giving Laxus a strong nod, both mages make their way to the crowd. They push their way to the building where they tell the police that they work for the Fockers and are allowed to pass. The crowd gets a bit antsy at seeing someone pass through the police line but neither Lucy nor Laxus pay any attention to them.

They head inside to see the worried doctor and the concerned businessman.

"Well?" Mr. Focker says anxiously.

"Well, there's a mob out there," Lucy says frankly.

Mr. Focker gives her a quick frown before the concern returns to his features. "Are those men going to come back?" he rephrases his first question.

"No, they're put away in a cell," Laxus steps in.

Both Fockers exhale of breath of relief and thanks at the news. Loud yelling bleeds through the walls.

"What about them?" Lucy asks as she nods her toward the walls separating them from the crowd.

Mr. Focker swallows in discomfort as he looks at her with an unsure gaze. "There is nothing we can do," his tone echoes the worry in his eyes. "They have the right to free speech as long as they don't harm the building. We have to let them be."

Lucy puffs out her cheeks in irritation at the thought of having no options in confronting the protesters. She pushes it down though as determination fills her chest and she gives the two men a reassuring look. "Don't worry," she says in a strong steady voice. "We won't let anything happen to your businesses. You have our word!"

"Thank you," Mr. Focker appreciates the kind words. "Thank you so much…"

"You can go on the roof," Dr. Focker interjects with a nod. "I can take you there through the building."

The Fairy Tail mages nods their heads and follow the doctor as he leads them to the roof.

Laxus and Lucy take their places on the roof top. They have a perfect line-of-sight all around the building and quickly accessing any side is a cinch. They set up on opposite sides and plan to alert one another if they see anything suspicious.

As the day goes by slowly, the crowd continues to publicly protest but no one attempts to bring physical harm to the building.

Until one man makes his daring attempt.

This man slips past one of the local police and swings an axe straight into the building's wall. The crowd cheers as he pulls the axe back for a second swing when a thunderous crack can be heard all around the area. In a single moment a bright lightning bolt streaks down from the clouds and strikes the axe handle. The man immediately drops his weapon as the entire crowd goes pin-drop silent in shock. Everyone looks up to see the scary scowling lightning dragon slayer that has his massive arms crossed over broad chest. A single lightning bolt highlights his imposing figure, mummers spread throughout the crowd and Lucy stares in awe at the man.

Despite being in the same guild as him and being friends with him, Lucy sometimes forgets that Laxus can literally wipe out an entire town clean off the map. The lightning reveals his impressive silhouette and she can feel her body heat up in desire at the image. Heat rises to her cheeks as she turns her face away from the scene before her mind can conjure any perverted thoughts.

Needless to say everyone on the ground was too frightened to even think of pulling any more stunts. It's so bad that the closest anyone is willing to come to either the bank or the clinic is a solid twenty feet.

The rest of the day goes by smoothly. People never approach the building in fear of the lightning god on top. As the morning turns into afternoon, the crowd disperses gradually as people leave the area. By evening only the most devoted to the cause stay but it is obvious to Lucy and Laxus that the small group is worn out. Soon enough, the last of the protesters leave once it becomes dark.

Lucy lets out a tired sigh of reprieve. Her and Laxus never left their posts on the rooftops and were diligent in their defending. A deep grumble of need reverberates in her stomach to remind the smaller blonde that she needs some food. The last time she or Laxus ate anything was twenty-four hours ago and she knows that if she is hungry then Laxus is starving.

"Let's go tell Mr. Focker and Dr. Focker that everyone is gone and get something to eat," Lucy calls in Laxus' general direction as she stands from her sitting position on the edge of the roof.

"Yeah," Laxus groans as he stretches his neck. All of this surveying has his muscles tense and tired.

They follow the same path that lead them to the roof back down into the building to find their employers. Lucy and Laxus tell them that everyone is gone so they no longer have anything to worry about. Dr. Focker and Mr. Focker are so overcome with appreciation and joy that they surround Lucy and give her a giant hug. Lucy giggles at the sudden contact before returning the gesture. The two men step forward to give Laxus the same treatment but a death glare from the brooding male makes them reconsider their decision.

Afterwards, Lucy and Laxus say they will be back tomorrow before leaving to get something to eat. Once again, they return to the restaurant and order the entire menu…twice. The manager, the one from yesterday, remembers the two blondes and orders the chef to put their request on top priority. The poor chef nearly had a heart attack from the sheer amount that Laxus ordered but did as he was told.

Dinner is done in companionable silence as the two blondes are too hungry to say anything between bites. The manager, being the happy man that they made him, thanks the two blondes for their patronage and for them to come again.

On the walk back Lucy remembers something important. "Oh!" Lucy exclaims as she turns on her partner. "I totally forgot to ask you yesterday but would you like for Virgo to wash your clothes? She can bring you some clothes from the spirit world too if you want."

Laxus blinks at the petite female in surprise, "Your spirit would do that?"

Lucy gives him a bright smile and a big nod.

Laxus rolls his eyes up in thought before lowering them to his shirt to examine the big red stains everywhere on the fabric. _They really do need to be cleaned_ , he thinks. "Just a wash would be good, I don't need new clothes," he says as looks back at Lucy. He'll have to thank her and her spirit later.

He receives another big nod and a bright smile before Lucy turns back around and continues on the path to the hotel. When they finally reach their hotel room, Lucy calls Virgo out to instruct her to wash Laxus' clothes. Lucy goes to the bathroom to change into her sleeping clothes and brush her teeth as Laxus strips and hands the pink-haired spirit his clothes. He thought that he would get at least a small reaction out of the spirit but Virgo looked at him with a perfect neutral face before bowing and poofing out of existence.

With a small shrug Laxus heads to his bed and lies down to go to bed. All of that waiting and constant guarding has taken its toll on his body and he needs a solid eight hours of sleep.

Lucy exits the bathroom to find the lightning slayer lying down in his bed. She pouts before biting on her lip worriedly. Deciding that it can't hurt to at least ask, he could always say no after all and she would understand.

She moves over to the side of his bed and pokes him in the arm. "Hey Laxus I kinda wanna watch the rest of the movie," Lucy says sweetly as she crosses her arms behind her back. "There's only thirty minutes left of it," she adds in order to make the statement sound better. During their long waiting periods she was thinking about where the movie got cut off and what the ending could be. It got her really riled up so she's been looking forward to it all day and she really, really wants to know what will happen to Ripley.

Laxus frowns as he gives her a knowing look. What she is really asking is if he could move over so she can watch the movie properly. Fatigue begins to seep into his bones and he knows that he should say no but the gentle pleading in her eyes stops that word from falling from his tongue. He gives her a small nod before hoisting himself to a sitting position and scooting over to one side of the bed to lean against the headboard.

Lucy gives him thankful smile and slides next to him. She clicks the movie on and fast forwards it to the point they stopped it at last night. Before she presses play on the movie player remote, she settles under Laxus' arm. Comfortable next to the bigger blonde, Lucy concentrates on the movie.

As the movie progresses, Laxus' eyelids gradually close before he shoots them open, only for them to steadily close once more. He tries his hardest to stay awake but Lucy is making it very difficult for him.

Not only is her delicate body pressed so perfectly against his but the warmth she emits heats his skin to the ideal temperature. The other thing that lolls him into dream land is her wondrous smell. Every breath fills his lungs of the magnificent smell and relaxes his very being. Being directly next to her makes the perfume much more potent and powerful.

Only ten minutes into the movie, Laxus' eyes fall shut as his head leans against the headboard. The noises of the movie become distant as the last two things he registers in his mind before he drifts asleep is the calming aroma of Lucy's sweet scent and her soft tender skin against his body.

By the end of the movie, Lucy's eyelids feel like lead. As the credits roll across the screen Lucy doesn't have the energy to stay awake any longer. Her head rolls to the side as her cheek lies on something smooth, broad, and warm as her body finally falls into blissful sleep.


	17. Chapter 17

**Hiro Mashima owns Fairy Tail and all corresponding characters. I only own the extra characters and plot.**

The sound of deep hollow music followed by pounding drums wakes Laxus from his serene slumber the following morning. His eyes slowly crack open to peer inside of the dimly light room. They shift slightly to the right to see the lacrima screen playing the menu to the fourth Alien movie.

A groan slips past his lips as he looks for the remote. Since he is lying on his side he can see the little device sitting on the edge of the small side table between the two beds.

Laxus tries to raise his right arm to reach the contraption to turn off the screen so he can get some more sleep when he feels it—the soft flesh under his fingertips. The same feeling then arises along the rest of his arm and down the front side of his abdomen.

This feeling is so familiar but he can't seem to place it in his sleep muddled mind. He turns his gaze downwards and his drowsiness instantly dissipate as he blinks in surprise at his discovery.

Right under his chin, buried in his arms and chest, is a snoozing Lucy. A perfectly peaceful, comfortable, snuggled up Lucy. Her lips are slightly parted, eyes closed, arms curled between their chests, and a leg buried under one of his. One of his arms is wrapped under neck and around the top of her shoulders while the other is firmly planted around her slim waist.

Laxus' mind goes blank and his heart slows as he watches the petite female in his arms. The only movement from the woman is the slight rising and falling of her chest but it's mystifying to the dragon slayer. She looks so…so…content. As if there is nothing wrong in the world. And she is finding that in his arms, so close to his body.

A small red blush heats Laxus' cheeks as the reality of the situation begins to fully set in. He is currently cradling a woman whom he has only dreamed about having physical contact with in his arms while lying on a bed, alone in a hotel room, away from prying eyes. And he likes it. The way her body heat seeps into his skin as her soft abundant curves mold perfectly against his own hard muscles, the way her glorious scent is so intense that it floods his nostrils with the mouthwatering smell, the way she looks so perfect and peaceful…it's absolutely mesmerizing.

His heart and mind know that he should feel bad about this situation. Disturbed, guilty, bothered, panicked are all things that he always imagined feeling if he was in this type of scenario.

But he doesn't.

No, not by a long shot.

Instead he feels the complete opposite. Deep warmth buries itself in his chest and practically purrs at the close contact. Satisfaction, comfort, and peace flow through every orifice in his being. It makes his stomach flip, his heart flutter happily, and his skin tingle in ways he has only recently started to feel. The sensations are almost overwhelming but in a good way. He feels content and serene with himself. As if something is finally going right in his life for once.

As he gazes down at the slumbering celestial mage, a sharp pang of pain spirals through his head. He winces in agony as he unconsciously hugs Lucy further into his chest. The pain begins to put everything in perspective for Laxus.

Closing his eyes, Laxus holds his breath and counts to ten. If he breathes he will only smell her wondrous scent and it will only confuse him more. He can begin to feel his control slowly return with each number as well as the pain begin to lessen. After his countdown is complete Laxus has regained most of his ability to think straight. The pain mingles with his thought process as he debates on what to do next.

He can't stay like this. As much as his instincts and desires tell him to stay nestled in bed with the pretty blonde female, he knows that when she wakes up everything will be awkward between them and he will regret his decision of staying with her.

The music to the movie continues to play in the background and only serves to worsen Laxus' headache. He uncurls his arm from Lucy's waist to reach out for the lacrima screen remote behind her. His fingers barely reach the cold metal before he presses the off button to click off the screen and movie player.

A frown spreads over his lips as he lightly throws the remote on the table. Laxus turns his face downward to stare at the beauty in his arms one more time. He can't get over how she can be so comfortable with him. The only thing more baffling is how happy this whole incredible situation makes him feel.

Pushing aside those thoughts for now, Laxus heaves a small sigh as he gently slides his arm out from underneath her head and slowly pulls away from Lucy. The beast inside of his heart and soul vehemently protests to the retreat and claws at Laxus' gut to return to his previous position.

The sudden lack of warmth makes Lucy uncomfortable in her sleep. A small shiver runs through her slumbering body as she unconsciously shifts to discover where that wonderful warm feeling went.

As Laxus is untangling their legs, he freezes when he feels Lucy squirm beside him. His eyes immediately dart to the side to see a shiver rack her frame. Without ever waking up, Lucy inches herself over in Laxus' direction to settle back into his side. A sigh of satisfaction bubbles up in her throat as a smile spreads over her lips at finding that lovely, comfortable feeling once more.

Laxus' eyes go wide in surprise as his cheeks flame. Nervous embarrassment floods his system as he cautiously peeps down at his fellow blonde. She is lying on her side with her head against his shoulder and her hand on his right pectoral. His heart starts rapidly pounding while several emotions all merge into one at the new position. He silently damns himself for getting himself into this situation while all the while being ecstatic about being close to her again.

Another stab of pain spears through Laxus' head. It swirls together with the jumble of conflicting emotions in his mind almost to the point of making him dizzy.

He tries to take a deep breath to calm his raging nerves but only succeeds in inhaling the air that contains her scent. It almost makes him reconsider his decision to leave his bed…almost. His reasoning is barely able to hold on to the last strand of his control but it's enough.

With tremendous reluctance, Laxus gently picks up Lucy's hand and carefully slides out of bed. Lucy sighs in her sleep again before snuggling into a pillow. Laxus watches the smaller blonde with a hint of repressed longing in his eyes. She looks so damn comfortable and he knows that he would just as comfortable if he joined her.

Closing his eyes and sighing again he turns away to head to the bathroom. He really needs a hot shower.

* * *

An hour later, Lucy's brown eyes flutter open to the bright morning sunlight. With a deep breath she rolls over on her back and stretches out her limbs. She feels great. She hasn't felt this well-rested in a long time. And she means a _long_ time. After all, it's kinda difficult to sleep peacefully when your entire team always breaks into your house.

Lucy sits up in bed with a satisfied smile when she sees something out of the corner of her eye. She turns her head to the side to see Laxus lying on the other bed, his Sound Pods on, eyes closed, and the covers laid over most of his body. She can tell that he's awake because his foot is slightly tapping to the music underneath the covers and moving the fabric with it.

"Laxus?" Lucy whispers to herself. Isn't that her bed he's lying in? Wait. If he's lying in her bed then that means…

Lucy's face drops into a sheepish frown as a thick blush, easily contending with Erza's hair, spreads over her cheeks. The faint memory of falling asleep against him after the movie blatantly reminds her of what she did and she can't help but feel tremendously embarrassed about it.

 _He must have woken up before me and moved over to my bed. Oh sweet gods, what he must have thought,_ she groans internally _. I really hope he's not mad or anything._ She stares at the man to see him paying her absolutely no heed. _He doesn't seem mad or anything. Maybe he doesn't care. I'll apologize later._ Her blush begins to die down at the relaxing thought until she takes a deep breath to totally clear it away.

The clock on the small bedside table says that it is half past ten and Lucy curses the time. They are so late it's not even funny. Today is the last day of their job and they are freaking late. Lucy throws the covers off and hops out of bed. She takes two steps over to the other bed to shake Laxus' shoulder gently. Laxus opens his eyes and sits up to look at her questioningly.

"Hey," she states hurriedly, "get dressed. We're really late."

A scowl spreads over his lips as he gives her a stupid look. As soon as Laxus opens his mouth to remind her about his lack of clothing due to them being washed, a bright light appears at the end of the bed to reveal Virgo holding his clean clothes. His mouth snaps shut as the pink haired maid curtly bows.

Lucy quickly moves to grab the clothes and hand them off to Laxus. She turns back toward one of her most faithful spirits and thanks her for all of her help. Virgo apathetically welcomes the thanks before asking for punishment. Lucy sweatdrops at her spirit and Virgo bows before fading into the spirit world.

Lucy puts her hands on her hips and turns to face Laxus with a smile. "You wanna just check out after we get dressed? That way when we finish with our rounds today we can just go home afterwards," she asks hopefully.

Laxus mulls over the thought for a second before nodding in agreement.

Lucy gives him a bright smile before gathering up her new outfit and rushing into the bathroom to get changed. She still has to pack up her few things so she really needs to hurry.

Laxus silently watches his fellow blonde speed off into the bathroom. He takes the opportunity to get dressed. The first thing he notices it that his shirt and pants are indeed the cleanest he has ever seen them, while the second is that they are the softest they have ever been. _The maid must have some special kind of detergent or something,_ he notes to himself.

Not five minutes later, Lucy walks out of the bathroom in her new work clothes. Laxus is already dressed and waiting for his partner, his small amount of belongings already packed for the road. Lucy quickly gathers all of her things and stuffs them into a bag that Virgo left behind.

Once everything is secured, Lucy and Laxus check out of the hotel and head over to the bank and clinic. If they hadn't been there the day previously, they would have never known that a protesting mob had picketed the outside for the entirety of a day. Patients and customers sit in the waiting room while they wait for their names to be called. The only people that seem to be acting weird are the security guards. They seem more anxious than usual. Although that could just be their imagination.

According to tradition, Lucy takes the outside while Laxus takes the inside until lunch. The two blondes see no suspicious individuals at all during their first round of surveying. The lack of anyone or anything trying to harm the building or its occupants is perfectly fine with the Fairy Tail mages. They really don't want to work too hard on the last day of their job anyway.

Lunch time arrives and Laxus and Lucy return to the restaurant one last time. They spend the next hour sitting in peaceful companionable silence while eating their respective meals.

Laxus takes his position on the outside while Lucy returns to the employee waiting room on the inside after lunch. Time ticks by slowly for them as they wait out the final hours of their mission.

When the clock strikes six Lucy nearly jumps for joy. She has been so bored for the past four hours and has been counting down the minutes. That and she has been ready to go home and soak in her nice hot bath since this morning.

The Fockers are waiting for Lucy and Laxus in the bank waiting room with a briefcase next to their feet. Lucy gives the two men a bright smile as her and Laxus walks up to stand face to face with them.

"Thank you for taking our job and helping us out," Mr. Focker says with a grateful bow. "We cannot express how much your assistance means to us."

"There's no need to thank us. We were only doing our job," Lucy reassures them as she crosses her hands behind her back.

Mr. Focker and Dr. Focker give her a small smile before nodding to one another. "Here is your payment," Dr. Focker says as he hands the briefcase to Laxus.

Laxus takes it without any arguments while Lucy looks tilts her head in confusion. "Wait," she begins in wonder, "how much did you pay us?" Now that she thinks about it, she never asked how much her and Laxus were getting paid for this job.

Dr. Focker and Mr. Focker look at one another before looking back curiously at the blonde woman. "The amount that was on the flier: four-hundred thousand jewel," Dr. Focker says obviously.

Lucy's jaw goes slack in shock but is quickly replaced by extreme happiness as she begins to swoon with stars in her eyes. _Two-hundred thousand jewel just for me! I can pay off two month's rent with that money! What a glorious day!_ she cheers internally.

Dr. Focker and Mr. Focker sweatdrop at the strange reaction.

Lucy composes herself after a few minutes of her mini celebration and thanks the two men for the money with a mega-watt smile.

"Here," Mr. Focker says brightly as he holds out a bag to the blondes.

Lucy looks between the bag and the business man before hesitantly taking it. "What is it?" she asks curiously. They've already been paid so what could this be? Is it a gift? What could they have possibly given them? A horror filled thought strikes Lucy that the two men are giving them some sperm for the road but she hastily wipes that image from her mind. Although she wouldn't know what to do in that situation.

Both Fockers give them wide smiles. "It's a bonus," they explain. "You both did an excellent job so we wanted to show you how much we appreciate your hard work."

Lucy's eyes go wide in surprise. She quickly unwraps the top of the bag and sees a pile of money at the bottom. The stars gather in her eyes again as she clutches the bag to her chest in pure joy. Laxus gives the overjoyed woman a weird look. Why in the hell is she so happy to get a bonus? It's not that much, fifty-thousand jewel at most.

Lucy bows to the two men and gives her thanks once more. They thank her and Laxus for their help before saying their goodbyes.

Lucy waves goodbye to the two men as Laxus keeps his eyes on the road. Feeling wonderful from receiving a large payment and a bonus, Lucy hums in happiness as her and Laxus walk toward the outside of the town.

"Hey Lucy," Laxus says suddenly once they are near the forest.

Lucy stops in the middle of her melody to look up at the man. "Yes?" she responds happily.

He turns to look down at the woman questioningly. "What's the big deal about getting the bonus?" he asks sincerely interested. For some reason this question has really been bugging him.

Her lips curl upwards as she gives him a satisfied smile. "I was just amazed to get one," she replies with mirth in her voice. "I'm used to losing half of the reward so getting _more_ money is just plain shocking," she jokes and laughs.

A knowing smirk spreads across his face. Of course. Of course it was something like that. This woman is used to having no money due to her team's tendencies to destroy everything in sight so getting the whole reward would be something to celebrate. Better yet, a bonus.

They reach a line of green trees at the edge of the forest before Laxus turns to face his female partner. He opens one arm while the other holds the briefcase securely. Lucy steps up to his body and wrap her thin arms around his thick but muscled waist while holding onto the bags behind his back in her hands.

Laxus folds his arm securely around Lucy's petite body. He can feel his heart jump into his throat and stomach flutter at the close contact. The memory of that morning seeps into his thoughts before they are quickly stowed away. Taking a few deep breaths to calm his self, he summons lightning to surround their bodies and shoots off into the sky.

* * *

Almost an hour later, both blondes land on the edge of Magnolia. The sun is beginning to set over the lake and cast hues of orange and purples in the sky.

Lucy releases the bags immediately and kneels over to empty her upside down stomach. The motion sickness is not as bad as last time but it still sucks. The lack of food makes the process more of a dry heaving rather than an actual puking nature.

Acting the patient man, Laxus waits for her to finish. He has to resist the urge to go get Wendy when the smaller blonde seems like she is chocking on air and to remain standing nearby.

Minutes later, Lucy stands up on shaky legs and inhales a deep breath. She gives Laxus a weak smile as she continues to breath to which he takes as the sign of her being good to go.

They walk slowly from the edge of Magnolia into town. Lucy's steps become steadier each second until no one would be able to tell that she was ever sick.

The lamplights flicker on above Lucy's head and garner her attention. "Do you want to go to the guild?" she asks as she looks up at Laxus. "It's getting kinda late."

Laxus looks down at Lucy before glancing up at the lights in thought. "No, not really," he replies as he looks back down at her. The fact that it is starting get dark is not the main reason that he doesn't want to go to the guild. The main reason is because the second he steps foot into that building he is going to be waylaid by his team and he _really_ doesn't want to deal with them yet.

Lucy nods her head and crosses her hands behind her back. "Yeah, me neither. I need to go home and put my things away also."

He grunts in agreement as they continue to walk. They agree to go to Lucy's apartment before Laxus can teleport to his house. Lucy hops up on the edge of the street as they turn onto Strawberry Street with Laxus following steadily beside her on the pavement. As they near the apartment, Laxus debates to himself on whether or not to ask his question.

When they arrive to the orange building, Laxus tells Lucy that he needs to give her, her half of the money. Lucy's eyes shine brightly at the reminder and she practically flings the front door to the apartment open from overexcitement.

All of that energy, all of that happiness, all of that delight at being able to pay for two of her month's rent…

Instantly dissipates when she lays her eyes on the train wreck that used to be her front wall.

Lucy gapes at the atrocity of her wall before falling to her hands and knees with a black cloud over her head. She mumbles about why this kind of stuff only happens to her and whines about the loss of her precious money.

A look of worry crosses Laxus' face when he sees Lucy fall to the floor so suddenly but quickly turns to confusion when he hears her words. He steps inside the building and looks up at her apartment, only to cringe in realization. That's right, he destroyed a section of her wall…he totally forgot about that.

Several lengthy minutes later, Lucy pulls herself upward and heaves a low tiresome sigh. Great, just freaking great… She should have known better. She should have known something was going to go wrong. Life was too perfect for nothing to be wrong.

Laxus glances down at the woman to see the look of utter dejection on her face. Guilt, amongst other emotions, surge through him at the view. He doesn't like seeing her like that, especially for something that he caused.

"I'll pay for it," he blurts out suddenly. The words just come out before Laxus even has time to think about them.

Lucy's eyes widen as she turns to stare upwards at the blonde male. "What?" she squeaks in shock.

Laxus looks pointedly away from her questioning gaze as his cheeks turn slightly pink from embarrassment. "I broke it so I should pay for it," he tries to explain matter-of-factly but comes out slightly bashful.

"Really?" Lucy asks still slightly baffled.

Laxus side eyes her to see that see is still looking at him in amazement. He twists his head further away from her as he gruffly half-snaps, "Quit your staring, it's not that big of a deal."

The change in his tone breaks Lucy's stunned state and she quickly drops her head. "S-sorry. T-that would be great, if you fixed it that is. You don't have to if you don't really want to but I would appreciate it," she thanks him in an embarrassed fluster. Can a person blame her for feeling awkward for gawking at a guy who just offered to pay for her entire wall? No, not really. Even though it is technically his fault, it's still a gentlemanly thing to do.

"We'll go tomorrow then," Laxus says as he turns to fully face Lucy. "I know a guy who will get me a good deal."

Lucy giggles behind her hand at Laxus' statement. "Never would have thought you went for bargains," she laughs.

Laxus scoffs at her as a knowing smirk crosses his face. "Unlike most of our guildmates, I know how to manage my money." His eye briefly makes a pass over Lucy's wall again and a thought hits him. "Where are you going to stay until it gets fixed?"

"Um…I don't know. I guess I have to go stay with Levy or Erza now. Although I don't really know if they're on a job or something," she says thoughtfully as she bites on her lip. Even if they aren't currently on a job, she doesn't want to impose on their hospitality either.

Laxus studies the young woman for a moment as a very scandalous thought appears in his head. The introverted emotional side of him practically freezes in horror while the physical side and his instincts cheer at the prospect.

"You can stay with me until you find another place," Laxus keeps his voice level and nonchalant instead of the stuttering mess that his guts are currently in.

Lucy blinks up at him owlishly. "Really?" her voice echoes her look of surprise.

The only sound Laxus makes in response is a positive grunt.

Lucy grasps her chin with her finger in deep thought. _It would solve my where-to-stay problem, I wouldn't just come over unannounced to anyone else's house, and he will be able to come with me to the renovator tomorrow without having to meet me anywhere._ "Alright, I'll come," Lucy says brightly as she smiles up at Laxus. "Thanks for helping me out so much."

"Forget it," Laxus says indifferently despite all of his organs doing figurative cartwheels.

Lucy walks up the stairs and into the hole where her front door used to be. "Let me grab some things and then we can go," she calls down the stairs to where Laxus remains standing. She dumps her bag of new clothes on the floor before grabbing some fresh clean ones from her closet and dresser. She then walks into her bathroom and grabs her toiletries so she can take a proper bath at Laxus' house.

A golden light shines in Lucy's apartment as Virgo arrives and asks for punishment. After being denied her wish, the pink-haired maid asks if there is anything that Lucy wishes for her to clean. Her master gives her the new clothes and the clothes inside of her suitcase that has been sitting there for a week. With a final bow and asking for punishment Virgo pops back into the spirit world.

Fifteen minutes later, Lucy walks downstairs to see Laxus leaning against the wall. She gives him a nod when he side eyes her questioningly. He pushes off the wall and opens the door to lead them out into the street.

They decide that they should get something to eat while they are still in town. They stop by a small food stall and order pretty much everything the seller has to offer. The man was practically crying out of happiness as he switched his sign from 'Open' to 'Closed'.

Laxus leads Lucy along Strawberry Street until they turn down another road that leads to the East Forest. As they step into the line of trees Lucy takes a step toward Laxus in order to not get lost in the woods.

Soon enough they arrive to a two story house in the East Forest. Despite not having much light to see due to it being nighttime Lucy stops in front of the house to admire it. It looks so cozy, warm, and homey that it's kinda hard to believe that Laxus, of all people, lives here.

Laxus opens the door and walks in with the celestial wizard following him. He throws his coat on the coat rack and begins to walk down the hallway toward the kitchen. Tossing a glance over his shoulder at Lucy, Laxus can't help the smirk that spreads over his lips. The celestial mage is looking around at every inch of his home in slight awe.

Making their way further into the house, Laxus turns to the right to enter the kitchen. He lays the food on the counter and starts taking everything out of the bag. Meanwhile, Lucy is not far behind and stops in the hallway as she sees him taking everything out of the bag and laying the food on the counter. Something makes a small creaking noise behind her and she turns head to see a door slightly ajar. She cocks her head to the side in curiosity as she pushes the door open and pokes her head inside.

Laxus looks over his shoulder to ask his guest if she would like a regular plate to eat on but the words halt when he doesn't find her. He grunts in annoyance as he leaves the food to find the wondering girl. As soon as he walks into the hall he sees the door to the living room wide open. He steps inside the doorway and freezes in place once he lays his eyes on Lucy.

Lucy is completely amazed. She's talking downright astonished. She knew that the way that Laxus talked that he would have a great music collection but this…this is freaking _fantastic_. Directly in front of her are every album, and then some, that she can remember from when she was younger. It gives her chills and goosebumps as happy memories of dancing and cooking with Mr. Harmon flood her memory.

Her eyes dart from one record to the next as she tries to memorize each and every one. She is so overwhelmed with joy and eagerness that she doesn't even know to begin. She finally sees an album with a light colored sky with a dark foreground and palms trees in front of what looks like a missionary.

"Oh wow!" she exclaims excitedly as she drops down to her knees and pulls out the lacrima record that reads "Hotel California". She can't believe it! He really has it! She hasn't seen this cover since she was a little girl!

Meanwhile Laxus is completely stunned. When he first witnessed her reaction when he asked her if she wanted to see his collection, he knew that she would love it. But actually _seeing_ her gaze at his belongings like they were the greatest things in the world floors him. Nothing could have possibly prepared him for this moment.

She just looks so fucking perfect sitting there in his living room, admiring one of his most prized belongings. He doesn't know if it's the lighting, the setting, how happy she is, or how shocked he is, but the thought of how absolutely beautiful she appears to be that it's fucking baffling is the only thing his mind can process at the moment. The image becomes ingrained so far into his memory that he is sure that he will remember it until he is an old man on his death bed.

Blood pumps loudly through his ears as his heart pounds in his chest. Airy butterfly-like sensations flutter in his stomach and his entire body feels lightened by the scene unfolding in front of him. Lucy has pulled out the record from its sleeve and is now examining the record acutely.

"Laxus! Look!" she giddily calls out to the immobile man. She holds up the album cover so he can clearly see it. "I remember this one!" she laughs and smiles merrily.

Laxus snaps out of his trance and inconspicuously takes a deep breath through his nose to calm his nerves. He really needs to get himself under control. He tosses her a smug smirk as he tries to appear composed and unaffected by her presence.

"Oh?" his voice seemingly innocent. "Find something you like?"

Lucy rapidly nods her head with a wide sincere smile as she turns back toward the case to find a new record. It takes her about four seconds to find the record _Dio_ by Dio and she nearly chokes on her own spit in excitement. She squeals as she delicately rips the record from the collection and gawks at it.

Laxus chuckles lightly before he turns to head into the kitchen. A minute later, he returns to the living room with all of the food and places it on the coffee table. Lucy doesn't pay him any mind as she pulls out a third album instead. Laxus smiles before sighing and pulling the album out of her hands from above her.

Lucy cranes her neck backwards to look straight up at the man upside down. "Wha-"

"Eat," he commands as he walks back to sit on the couch.

Lucy pouts but reluctantly obliges and sits on the other side of the sectional couch. She quickly grabs her food in one hand and pulls the album closer to her in the other so she can continue to look at it. Laxus can't help the proud smirk that crosses his face as he watches Lucy eat while observing the record with peaked interest.

"They have a live version of that record too," Laxus says nonchalantly as he takes a bite of his sandwich. "I like that one better."

" _The Razors Edge_ by AC/DC..." Lucy mumbles in wonder as she turns the cover over to look at the back. It's a very simply cover with a gray color and what looks like a picture of the cover being slashed by a knife or something sharp.

"My favorite song is on there too," he adds, "It's called 'Thunderstruck'."

Lucy raises her eyes to meet his with a deadpanned expression. "You're favorite song is called ' _Thunder_ struck'?" she asks dryly. His ego cannot be that big.

He raises a challenging glare at her in a dare to mock him.

"Never mind" she sighs before taking a bite of her salad. Yes, apparently his ego can be that big.

"Here," he takes the record out and rises from the couch. He walks to the middle of the music collection where a metal box sits and pushes a button that lights up the top in a rainbow of colors. Directly in the middle is a thin slit where he inserts the record, within seconds the first song begins as fast paced guitar notes play.

Lucy realizes that he is letting her listen to his favorite song and feels slightly embarrassed but in a good kind of way. It was just a week ago that she started learning all of these things about him and now here she is listening to his music. She knew that he really isn't a bad person even though he seems grumpy and closed off most of the time before they started to really get to know each other but now that she has spent some personal time with him she realizes that he's actually tremendously awkward and kinda shy deep down. He just acts mean and tough, although he could rip someone in half with ease, in order to hide how uncomfortable he feels in new situations. But once he's comfortable or discussing something he loves and is knowledgeable about, he is open and talkative. And she feels a small amount of pride in the fact that she is one of the people that he feels so comfortable with that she is welcomed in his home and is being shown his private music collection. That's not something that can be said about most people.

A chorus of chants and drums accompanies the guitar notes as Laxus takes his seat once again. Lucy's embarrassment is quickly forgotten as she starts to really listen. The main singer's voice sounds like it has been grated by sandpaper for ten years but it actually works with the music.

"This is really good," Lucy praises the song about halfway through. "Are all of their songs like this?"

Laxus smirks for the umpteenth time that night. "I don't think they are as good as this one but they're still great," he says so smugly that Lucy could practically taste it.

A half smile slides onto her lips at the implication. "I guess I will just have to listen to them to see for myself," she declares adamantly with a small fist pump.

Laxus smirk turns into a small genuine smile, briefly there and barely noticeable.

The two blondes finish their dinner as they talk and listen to the music. Before long the food is all gone and the record has played halfway through so Laxus shows Lucy where she will be staying during the night. He leads her up the stairs at the front of the house to the second floor.

The second floor has a long hallway with two guest rooms on the left side and the master bedroom on the right side. Only one of the guest rooms is decorated with a bed and two side tables, the other is being used as a makeshift gym. A weightlifting bench, a barbell, dumbbells, and various weights are carefully placed around the room. Between the two rooms is a shared bathroom with a door on either end. The master bedroom has a king sized bed, a dark wood dresser, a table, and a desk on one side of the room. A window is opposite of the door to the hallway and has black-out curtains cover the glass. The other side has two doors; one leading to the master bathroom and one leading to the walk-in closet. The bathroom has marble counters and flooring, a large shower, and a large bathtub.

"Just knock if you need anything," Laxus says as he opens the door to the guest room and moves back.

"Alright. Thanks again for letting me stay Laxus," Lucy smile warmly up at him as she passes into her room.

Laxus grunts in acknowledgement before leaving to change out of his clothes in his room.

Lucy drops all of her things onto the floor and picks out a simple change of clothes. She decides that she needs a bath and walks into the bathroom to start running the water.

Once she is finished her nightly routine she changes into her standard pink pajamas with yellow stars and walks back downstairs. She's not really all that tired and she really, _really_ wants to keep looking at the music collection. There's so much to look at after all!

Much to her surprise, even though she shouldn't be because this _is_ his house, Laxus is lying on the couch listening to his music. He has switched outfits so that he is wearing a pair of loose shorts and a regular tank top. Lucy gently smiles at the comfortable man before lightly giggling and moving back in front of the music collection. Her eyes roam over the record album in search of her next big find.

Laxus cracks open one eye to see Lucy probing through his music collection once again. He hauls himself up from the couch and picks out a record with a black background and what looks like spaceships-shaped-like-jellyfish to hand to her. He made sure to pick out the Boston album with "More than a Feeling" on it.

Lucy lets out a very girly squeal as she rips it from his hand, but making sure she doesn't harm the material or the lacrima record inside, and gazes at it in pure delight. She quickly pulls the record out and within a few seconds is inserting the lacrima disc into the player. The first song steadily begins to play and she practically swoons in happiness.

Laxus merely chuckles at her antics as he takes a seat on the floor next to his guest. Lucy begins to gush to him about how much she loves this song and he can't help but feel proud and slightly embarrassed from all of the attention that him and his music collection are getting.

They spend the next three hours talking about different types of rock music and listening to Laxus' suggestions. There are moments during the night where Lucy becomes so immersed in the music that she closes her eyes and pictures herself front and center at a concert where the band is playing.

Laxus' mind wonders as he watches the blonde woman in those moments. She looks incredibly peaceful and serene as the notes flow around her. Almost like a goddess of music and light. That thought of how beautiful she looks reappears from earlier and he has to tear his eyes away from her every time to regain control over his senses.

The only reason the two mages stop in their newfound hobby is because of a yawn that escapes Lucy's mouth at the end of a particularly soft song. Laxus turns the music player off and tells Lucy that's he's going to bed. Lucy nods sleepily as she slowly follows him upstairs. She tells him goodnight as she mindlessly walks into her room and falls face first into the bed.

* * *

"Is this really all you have to eat?" Lucy's skeptical voice filters back from the open refrigerator.

Laxus tsks at her from across the kitchen.

"Guess we gotta go get some breakfast," Lucy sighs as she closes the door. "Wanna get some on the way to the renovator?"

A quiet hum reverberates in Laxus throat as he ponders her question.

"The renovator won't open shop for another hour. Let's go to the guild first and let gramps know how the job went. By the time we're done there and walk across town, the shop will be open and we can get something to eat," Laxus explains as he crosses his arms.

"Alright, sounds good," Lucy agrees with a slight nod. "We can go shopping for food after the renovator looks at my apartment. I'm going to need a lot more than sour milk if I'm going to cook dinner."

Laxus grunts in agreement and pushes off of the countertop. He walks to the front door with Lucy following behind him, grabs his coat, and locks the door behind him.

Laxus leads Lucy back into town and straight to the guild. Now that's it's daylight, Lucy can easily remember the path to Laxus' house, which is a good thing because now she knows how to get back if she gets separated from the hulking giant. It takes a while for them to finally reach the guild hall. At least that's what it felt like for Lucy. To Laxus it felt completely normal.

They open the guild hall doors and are greeted with a familiar sight. On the bar sits the master with Mira behind the bar and Erza by his side. Wendy and Carla are sitting on the opposite side of Erza as they eat their breaksfasts.

"Hey everyone," Lucy chirps happily and gives the small group a wave as her and Laxus walk toward them.

Everyone stops what they were doing to look startled at the arrival of the two blondes.

"Hi Lucy. Hi Laxus. Welcome back," Mira says sweetly as she recovers first.

"Lucy, are you alright?" Erza almost interrupts with her natural firm voice but with an undertone of concern.

"Huh?" Lucy mumbles as she cocks her head to the side. "Of course I am. Why wouldn't I be?"

Erza crosses her arms as her eyes harden. "Freed, Evergreen, and Bickslow explained their actions to us shortly after you left. If you are harmed in any way I will have no choice but to properly punish them," she explains as a sense of death emits from her body.

Lucy sweats in fear while Laxus growls at the redhead. "I-it's okay Erza," Lucy stammers as she waves her hands in front of her body. "They didn't really hurt me and they were only trying to help Laxus. Everything's cool now. No need to go punishing anyone," she nervously chuckles.

"Are you sure?"

Lucy nods her head hurriedly.

The aura of death leaves Erza's body almost instantly and Lucy can't help but sigh in relief.

"How was the job?" Master Makarov changes the topic of conversation.

"It went fine," Lucy says happily, the memory of all of her money greatly shifting her mood from a moment ago. "We had to protect a bank and a clinic…" she begins her tale of what happened on the job, making sure to exclude the fact that it was a _sperm_ bank and _fertilization_ clinic. If word ever got out about that certain fact to certain members, a particular drunkness specifically, she would never hear the end of it. Lucy also excludes how they watched any movie, how she was continually scared from said movies, that she imagined Laxus masturbating, how she thought their child would look, and their little inside game they have about the Thunder Legion.

"…we got paid in full and then we came home," Lucy finishes the story.

"My, my, it sounds like you two had an exciting few days. You should rest and take it easy for the rest of the day," Mira says kindly as she gives them a smile.

Lucy returns Mira's smile with one of her own. "We will right after we go see the renovator," she chirps excitedly. The memory of Laxus' music collection appears in her head and she can feel her heart swell in glee and excitements at the thought of further delving into the albums. Not to mention how they are going to have a great meal to pair with it.

"Renovator for what?" Wendy wonders out loud.

"For my wall that got destroyed during the whole interrogation thing," Lucy explains.

Wendy's lips form an 'O' before she gives Lucy a small smile. The Thunder Legion also explained how Laxus kinda damaged Lucy's apartment while he was protecting her from them during their story from a week ago. Carla shakes her head and sighs tiredly.

"In that case," Erza's voice grabs everyone's attention, "you will need somewhere to stay in the meantime. You can stay with me."

Lucy's mood slightly drops. "Oh, um…" she mumbles. She was kinda hoping to stay with Laxus to be honest. As much as it surprises her, she really liked staying at Laxus' house. She had her own room, he never barged in on her, his house was clean, she had a lot of privacy, there was lots of room, he let her look and listen to his music collection, and it was comfortable and warm. Living with Erza, or anyone else for that matter, would take away most of those qualities.

Laxus' heart sank at Erza's words. He really enjoyed having Lucy stay with him last night. They talked for hours about music and he can't remember a time when he felt happiness like that. That was one of the few times that he felt truly at peace and comfortable with another person. And now that he's discovered that feeling, he doesn't want to let it go. That's why his heart is screaming at him to tell his fellow S-Class to piss off and that Lucy will continue to stay with him.

The immense wave of emotion catches him completely off guard though. Laxus' body freezes up as he reins in his control. He has no idea where that surge of emotion came from or why he felt that strongly about Lucy leaving him. All he knows is that being at the guild hall with their guildmates around is not the place or time to confront it. That being said, he will have no choice but to reluctantly let Lucy go if he wants to keep up his mask of indifference. Luckily, no one notices Laxus' internal battle.

"There's no need to thank me," Erza smiles as she yanks Lucy's head against her armor clad chest with a clang. "What are friends for?"

Lucy flails her arms whilst struggling against the woman's body as she gasps for air. "E-Erza!" she chokes on what little air she has in her lungs. Wendy and Carla sweatdrop, Mira giggles softly, and a look of mild concern crosses Laxus' face at the display.

"Cake Erza?" Mira says innocently as she pulls the sweet dessert seemingly out of nowhere.

Erza almost instantly releases a near suffocated Lucy in favor of the offering. Lucy inhales deep breaths as her lungs greedily claw at the beloved oxygen. After she situates herself Lucy sighs sadly at her fate. _Guess I'm staying with Erza now…_

"We gotta go," Laxus tells Lucy as he turns for the guild doors. Lucy blinks in surprise before waving goodbye to her friends and catching up to the blonde man.

"Take her to see Fred, Laxus," Master calls after his grandson as he takes a swig of his beer.

Laxus stops in his tracks just to turn his head to scowl and glare at his grandfather. "Where else would I take her?" he growls in irritation. Laxus has known Fred ever since he was little, the old man should know by now that he wouldn't go anywhere else.

Master shoots back glare of his own so that the two Dreyars have a small glaring contest. Lucy looks back and forth between the older and younger men nervously. She really doesn't want them to start fighting.

Laxus finally 'humphs' before continuing his walk out the door. The doors slam closed as Lucy and Laxus leave for the renovator's shop.

"I just thought of something…" Erza wonders out loud as she finishes her piece of strawberry cake.

Almost twenty minutes later, Lucy and Laxus walk up to a large red building across Magnolia. The words "Fred's Fixes" read across a small sign on top of the door to the building. A little white piece of paper hangs inside of the door.

"They're closed for another hour," Lucy says as she bends over to get a better look at the sign on the door. Something about seeing a client reads across the bottom.

Laxus lightly grumbles under his breath before stopping as he realizes something. Without a word he turns on his heel and walks down the street. Lucy does a double take with a "huh?" before jogging to catch up to older mage. Now where is he going?

Five minutes later Laxus and Lucy enter a small storefront. The inside is much bigger than what is expected by looking at the outside. Directly to their right is a long counter with a middle aged man with a rocker style shredded tank top and a bandana behind the cashier. In front of them are various music genres to the left and movie types along the right. Lucy's jaw slightly drops as she takes in the contents of the room. It's obviously a music and movie store but it's _amazing_!

"Laxus, my man! Long time no see!" the other man greets the lightning mage enthusiastically as he walks over toward him.

A smirk makes its way onto Laxus face as the man gets closer. "Hey Hendrix," he replies.

"It's been a while dude! Where have you been?" he jokes.

"Just busy. Guild stuff," Laxus answers nonchalantly.

"It's always guild stuff with you, ya know that?"

Lucy looks between the two men curiously, not knowing what to make of this situation. Who's he? And why are they talking like old friends?

"And who's this pretty thing?" Hendrix asks intriguingly as he finally notices the woman at Laxus' side.

A light pink blush rises to Lucy's cheeks at the odd compliment.

"This is Lucy. I brought her here to show her the rock music," Laxus answers before she has a chance to open her mouth.

Hendrix's face lights up. "You found yourself a rocker chic? Right on dude!" Hendrix grins cheekily at Laxus.

Laxus blinks in surprise at the other man as he hears Lucy yelp beside him.

"We-we're not together! We're just friends!" Lucy sputters as her cheeks turn a deep red. The image of a blonde baby calling her mama threatens to pop up again but she quickly stomps that idea down.

Hendrix deflates at Lucy's words. "Well that's a bummer. I was always looking forward to the day that I finally meet Laxus' girl."

"Hendrix," Laxus growls lowly, clearly embarrassed by the sudden turn of events.

"Alright, alright," he holds up his hands in surrender, "cool it man. I'm only trying to rib ya a little bit."

Laxus glares at the rocker while Lucy covers her mouth with one hand to stifle her giggles. This older man is sorta strange but he seems harmless enough.

"Anyway, you dudes go have a look around. Just let old Hendrix know if you need anything," he says as he flips a thumb toward the music section.

Laxus walks off toward the rock music with Lucy at his back.

"Who was that?" Lucy whispers once they are far enough away from Hendrix.

Laxus tilts his head to look down at her. "That's Hendrix, he owns this place. This is where I go to buy any of my music. I've been coming here since I was young," he explains as they come to a stop in front of some records.

"O-oh," Lucy mumbles in surprise. So that's why they talked liked they knew each other for a long time.

She turns her head to look at what he wanted to show her and her eyes instantly start to sparkle as she loudly gasps while smiling wide and clasping her hands to her chest to look like she is praying. Right in front of her is a huge collection of different types of rock music lacrima records: classic, pop, grunge, screamo, alternative, punk, hardcore, religious, and many, many more. Some of the albums she recognizes from Laxus' collection and the feeling of hopeful anticipation for potentially great buys fill her to the brim.

Lucy's eyes dart around between different sections as her heart and brain tries to agree on where to start. She finally decides on one right in front of her and she pulls it out of the sorting box with dainty fingers and a delicate touch.

A deep chuckle rumbles in Laxus' chest before passing to his lips as he watches the girl. She looks like a sugar-loving kid that just discovered a candy shop for the first time. Lucy calls his name and shows him the album in her excitement, completely missing the amusement dancing in his eyes.

They spend the next hour looking through old records and albums with an excited Lucy questioning any and everything she lays her big brown curious eyes on and a content Laxus answering almost all of her questions with a smile.

Hendrix watches the two in confounded amazement. Never, and he means never, has he seen Laxus act this way. Granted he has never seen Laxus with a girl before…but still! He hasn't seen Laxus smile this much since he was about twelve years old when he first meet the boy. And now here he is with a pretty blonde thing, sharing everything he knows with the girl. A sly knowing grin crosses his face as he watches Lucy laugh at something Laxus said while Laxus smiles proudly.

Oh…he's got it _bad_.

Lucy finally decides on two particular albums that she wants to listen to at Laxus' house. Since she doesn't own a music player, she either has to buy one or use Laxus' and she would rather pay off two months of her rent instead. Priorities first, after all.

As her and Laxus walk toward Hendrix behind the cashier, Lucy glances at the movie section of store. The action section is closest to her and she sees something that stops her in her tracks. With a tilt of her head, she walks over to the movie.

Lucy gasps for the umpteenth time that day as she spins around to show Laxus what she discovered. "Hey Laxus look what I found!" she waves a large movie set in front of her body.

Laxus looks at the movie and can't help but feel the corners of his lips twerk upward. Apparently Hendrix is selling the complete set of all seven Alien Movies. Looks like they are going to get to continue their movie marathoning after all.

Lucy practically bounces up to the counter and hands over the two records and the movie set to the grinning Hendrix. The rocker rings up her purchases and hands them over to her in a bag after she pays.

Lucy waves goodbye to Hendrix as her and Laxus leave to go to the renovator. She happily hums as she half-skips down the street beside a satisfied Laxus.

The renovator's shop is now open so Laxus leads Lucy inside to see a short red headed man. This man's name is Fred and he is the main renovator when it comes to anything Fairy Tail related; both for Fairy Tail itself or the destruction left behind by its members. Lucy tells him the details of everything she wants done while he carefully notes what the young woman says. He asks if he may see her apartment so he can give her a better estimate on the cost of the work. Lucy nods and leaves the shop with Laxus and Fred at her back.

As they walk across town Lucy pleasantly asks Laxus questions about what he might want for dinner and other ideas she has regarding his choice in foods. After all, she is making this dinner for him and she refuses to have it become a catastrophe because of some kind of food allergy or anything of that nature.

He replies that there really isn't anything he won't eat, with the exception of onions. He hates onions. Red, white, yellow, sweet, you name it, he hates it. Lucy takes note of that profound hatred as she contemplates dishes that exclude any type of onion as they continue to walk. She eventually begins to throw out ideas he might like in a rhetorical sense as it helps clear her head and keep her thoughts straight.

"…beans and some kind a potato would be good too. Maybe I could make potato salad?" she thinks out loud as they turn down Strawberry Street. "That would go well with cheeseburgers…"

As the two blondes and the renovator turn down Strawberry Street, Laxus sees a very strange sight while Lucy continues to list off different dinner combinations. His eyebrows furrow in confusion as he tries to deduce what the hell those two are doing with all of that stuff. The thing that gives him an idea of what exactly is happening is the bed with a pink bedsheet that is tied to the side of the massive pile with what looks like a mile of rope.

"I think you've been robbed," Laxus says casually.

Lucy's conversation with herself stops midsentence as she gives him a confused look. "What does being robbed have to do with different types of pies?" she asks as her face scrunches in bafflement as she pauses in her stride.

Laxus stops also before turning his gaze downwards to look at her like she's stupid. He nods his head to the end of the street. Lucy follows his gesture and squints her eyes at the only thing on the street. She can see something that is reminiscent of two human figures in front of a pile of boxes, sacks, a table, chairs, and a very familiar looking bed moving toward her, Laxus, and Fred.

Her eyes go comically wide as her jaw drops. "Is that my stuff?!" she demands dumbstruck.

"That's why I said you've been robbed," Laxus smirks like he is withholding an important piece of information.

Small choked squeals slip up her throat as Lucy freezes in shock. She watches awestruck as her belongings and the two thieves approach her and Laxus closer and closer each second. The thought of ripping the perpetrators a new one appears up in her mind but is quickly dismissed when she finally recognizes the two figures. She lets out an exhausted sigh, not really sure if it's out of relief or exasperation. Laxus chuckles lightly at her expressions which earns him a cold glare from the celestial mage. _The smug bastard—_

"Oh! Hi Lucy! Hi Laxus!" a small pleasant voice calls out.

"Child, there is no need to yell," the white cat reprimands the girl.

Lucy turns away from the smirking dragon slayer to give a weak smile toward the small girl and her cat. "Hey Wendy, hey Carla," Lucy says meekly.

"Hello Lucy. Hello Laxus," the other female says as she halts her walk beside Wendy with the cart of objects in tow behind her when she reaches Lucy. Laxus grunts at Wendy and Erza in his typical indifferent welcoming style.

"Hey Erza," Lucy sighs as she eyes all of her belongings on the cart directly behind the red head. Apparently Erza and Wendy have taken the liberty of moving all of her things onto one of Erza's luggage carts and is now doing who knows what with it.

"I'm glad we ran into each other Lucy," the red head says as she smiles at her blonde friend. "I didn't want you to worry about your things so Wendy and I took the initiative and packed up your belongings to store at Fairy Hills while your apartment is being fixed."

"Yo-you really didn't need to do that," Lucy says as a huge sweatdrop forms on her brow. "My stuff was fine where it was…"

"Actually Miss Heartfilia," Fred butts into the conversation with a nervous smile, "according to your description, I probably would have recommended that your belongings be vacated from the premises until the renovations are complete. That way nothing gets damaged or ruined in the process."

Lucy briefly deadpans at the man as Erza sagely nods her head in approval.

"Alright then," Lucy sighs in resignation. _Oh well, guess it's for the best anyway…_

"What's that Lucy?" Wendy asks as she eyes the bag in Lucy's hand.

"Huh?" Lucy snaps out of her depressed mood as she looks at the youngest dragon slayer. "Oh, this?" Just some records and movies," Lucy says as she pulls out the Alien movie set.

Erza grabs the movie set and looks at it curiously with Wendy craning her neck to have a look as well. "What's it about?" Erza asks in wonder as she observes the cover.

"They're about these people who have to fight this alien or aliens in space," Lucy says simply.

"I see…" Erza mumbles to herself in thought. "We should watch this together. It would be an excellent team building exercise," she says with deep conviction.

"Um, well," Lucy nervously chuckles, "Laxus and I have already seen the first four and I kinda want to watch the fifth one. So…"

"I understand," Erza nods firmly. "May I watch the first ones?"

"Of course!" Lucy declares hastily. She didn't want to give Erza the impression that she wasn't allowed to watch them. The idea of being able to talk to the red haired knight about the movie excites Lucy to no end.

Erza takes the first four movies and hands Lucy back the last two. "We must be going now Lucy; I must go unpack your things. I expect you at Fairy Hills no later than eight o'clock this evening. Will that be a problem?" she says darkly in a challenge to the celestial mage.

Lucy sweats heavily as she holds her hands up in surrender. "O-of course not," she stammers in fear of her teammate. A small growl is heard beside her but she dismisses it as her imagination.

"Very good," Erza calms down as if she wasn't on the verge of pulling out a sword a few seconds ago. "Come along Wendy, Carla," Erza says humbly as she begins to walk toward Fairy Hills while towing Lucy's things behind her. Wendy waves goodbye as she holds Carla with the other arm as they follow beside the older female.

Lucy returns the wave before heaving another sigh and facepalming. How she ever wound up with friends like that is baffling sometimes.

"Miss Heartfilia? May we please continue?" Fred hesitantly asks the stressed young woman.

"Uh yeah, yeah," Lucy sighs again and begins to walk down Strawberry Street to her now empty apartment.

Once the group of three reaches the red-orange, Lucy wasn't at all surprised, but was completely terrified, when she saw her fuming landlady standing on the sidewalk waiting for her.

"MISSES HEARTFILIA!" the landlady's very loud and horrid voice yells in the direction of the horrified blonde woman.

Lucy freezes in fear and dread when she hears the voice of her landlady and prays to the gods that she is not murdered on this day. She's too young and beautiful to die…

"Yes?" Lucy mumbles sheepishly like a child that is about to be spanked.

The landlady stomps over to where Lucy stands terrified and grabs Lucy by the shirt to yank the young woman down to her eye level. Laxus growls as his fist clenches when he sees the old woman roughly handling his fellow blonde.

"YOU'RE PAYING FOR ALL OF THIS!" the landlady yells so loudly in Lucy's face that Lucy's hair flies backwards from the sheer force.

Lucy has big comical tears roll down her face as she starts vehemently bowing to the older woman in an exuberant apologetic style. "Yes! Yes! Of course! Of course! Right away! Please don't kick me out!" she begs.

The landlady hmphs at her before rounding on the stunned renovator. "You!" the short man jumps as she points her stubby finger at him.

"Y-yes?" he shakily asks.

"You're here to fix this mess, right?!" the landlady demands.

"W-well, y-yes bu-but-"

"Then get to work!" she grabs the poor man by the collar and begins to drag him into the building. Fred struggles as he tries to breathe while not stumbling over his feet as he is dragged up the stairs.

Lucy cringes for the man along with hoping that he doesn't give her a high quote for all of the extra trouble. Laxus relaxes his fists as he comes to stand beside his kneeling guildmate.

"You alright?" he asks blankly.

"Yeah," she replies meekly. "Let's go make sure I'm not homeless…"

Lucy slowly picks herself up and hauls her self-pitying butt up the stairs to where the screech of her landlady's voice and the quivering begging of Fred resonates through her destroyed apartment.

* * *

A little while later, Lucy thanks Fred for the quote before biding him goodbye. The renovator told Laxus that the wall will cost an estimate of one-hundred and ten thousand jewel and that it will take around two and a half weeks for the job to be completed. Lucy wasn't exactly happy that she is going to be without an apartment for two weeks but at least she will have an intact home afterwards and a satisfied landlady afterwards. Her giving the landlady two months of rent in advance helped her tremendously in that department.

With their errand done, Lucy and Laxus walk toward the market to pick up food for dinner. Lucy has a bounce in her step from the uplifting news of having her apartment fixed while Laxus remains stoic.

The two blondes spend an hour or two inside of the market picking out everything that Lucy will be cooking for dinner that night as well as tomorrow night. Much to Lucy's annoyance and pleasure Laxus paid for all of the food, saying that she is meant to cook it, not buy it.

On the way back, Lucy enthuses over what all she is going to cook and how excited she is to try everything with a silent smirking Laxus by her side.

Once they return to Laxus' house, Lucy immediately starts to cook. She pulls on an apron she brought from her apartment before taking out pots and pans of various sizes. After unpacking all of the meats, packages, fruits, vegetables, and cans, she separates everything into piles so she can efficiently find the appropriate ingredients.

Laxus leans against the counter as he watches her salt the pasta before dropping it into a pot of boiling water. As she waits for the pasta to cook through she begins to chop and cut the potatoes, tomatoes, lettuce, and other fruits and vegetables. Laxus smirks to himself before walking into the living room and turning on the music player. He bumps up the volume so it can be very clearly heard throughout the house.

A big smile appears on Lucy's lips as music starts to filter through the walls. Laxus returns shortly thereafter to a giggling Lucy and he fan feel his stomach flips at the image of a laughing Lucy wearing an apron and cooking in his kitchen. Another memory to be stored for a rainy day.

Lucy starts to ask him questions about the music records she saw at the store earlier as she continues to cook. Time passes quickly for the two blondes as they happily chat about music while the delicious scents of different meats, stews, and sauces waft through the air.

To Laxus it's as if they just picked up where they left off last night. The warmth and bubbliness in Lucy's voice as she speaks about how great all of his music is and how wonderful his music shop was makes his heart beat faster and stomach flutter. The sensations make his entire body light and airy to the point where he begins to believe that his home has turned into a place of prosperity and bliss. A feeling that he would surround himself in everyday if it were possible.

Eventually, Lucy has cooked up a feast for the both of them and brings everything out to the dining room table. They take their seats on opposite ends of the table and fill their plates full of food. Music continues to play as they enjoy Lucy's delicious cooking.

At the end of the meal, Lucy cleans up all of the dishes and puts away all of the extra food in the refrigerator. Its packed full and he now has enough food to last until tomorrow evening.

"You wanna watch the Alien movie?" Lucy asks giddily as she holds up the movie in front of her chest.

Laxus nods his head and walks into the living room. He takes a seat on the couch and flips the lacrima screen on while Lucy puts the movie into the movie player. She takes a seat beside him on the couch as the movie begins to go through previews for other movies.

The typical hollow, deep music plays as the menu for the fifth Alien movie starts. Laxus presses play so the movie can properly start.

Halfway through the movie, Lucy is huddled against Laxus with a couch pillow in front of her face in fear. Laxus internally smiles as he lays his arm over the back of the couch. Every few minutes he slides his arm lower until it lies around her shoulders and down her upper arm. Lucy fails to notice as she watches Ripley run through a vent from a Xenomorph.

Laxus' skin tingles as it comes into contact with Lucy's skin. It takes most of his willpower to not let his mind drift to more perverse ideas as his eyes drift over the blonde under his arm.

Brief images of her laughing and cooking from earlier come to the forefront of his mind and his heart swells in pleasure. A deep hopeful feeling fills his chest as he thinks about how they will get to continue with their dinners and their movies. It's a strange feeling but not something that he wishes to dismiss.

So caught up in the movie or the company, neither Lucy nor Laxus hear the front door open and three sets of footsteps begin to walk through the house.

"Laxus? Are you in he-" Freed's voice filters through the living room as he opens the door. He stops dead in his tracks and is rendered speechless when he sees the position of the two blondes. Lucy is curled up into Laxus' side with her head on his chest while he has one arm wrapped her shoulders.


	18. Chapter 18

**Hiro Mashima owns Fairy Tail and all corresponding characters. I only own the extra characters and plot.**

If Freed wasn't too shocked to move his jaw would be on the floor. Bickslow and Evergreen run into his back and nearly succeed in toppling over the green-haired man.

Lucy is slightly jolted as she is released from her movie induced reverie when she hears Freed's partial question and unconsciously snuggles further into Laxus' protective hold before twisting her head around to look at the rune mage in surprise. Laxus, on the other hand, snaps his head sharply toward the intruder. A scowl spreads over his lips and a small growl bubbles in his chest at being disturbed.

"Dude, why did you stop?" Bickslow, who is not wearing his visor, asks as he looks down at his team's leader. The seith mage turns his eyes toward where Freed is staring and promptly drops his jaw at the sight.

Evergreen is about to scold the two idiots for almost tripping her when she sees Lucy and Laxus cuddling and her eyes almost bulge out of her sockets.

"Hey guys," Lucy says nervously as she leans away from Laxus to pause the movie. Oh gods, she hopes they are not here to continue where they left off in her apartment.

"What are you doing here?" Laxus barks in irritation. Why do these three have to continuously mess up his time with Lucy?

"Uh…" Freed breathes in a very ill-composed manner that is highly uncharacteristic of him, still not totally devoid of his shock. He is about to ask what is going on when he notices the mildly murderous status of his leader. The memory of how furious Laxus was and how close the man came to electrocuting him, Ever, and Bickslow when they last saw him makes the words on his tongue shift to a different topic in hopes of not upsetting the man any more than necessary.

"We-we are here to apologize to you," he musters finally. "And you, Lucy," he adds as an afterthought.

"Oh," Lucy perks up in surprise at the mention of her name.

He takes a deep breath as he tries to compose himself. "We," Freed motions between himself and his still shocked teammates whom still haven't moved a muscle, "wanted to apologize for how we acted towards the both of last week. We are sorry that we did not listen to you Laxus. We felt that we were doing the right thing and we understand that excuse does not justify our actions. We are also tremendously sorry for how we acted towards you Lucy. It was very inappropriate and cruel that we accused of such things without physical evidence and we hope that both of you can forgive us."

Lucy gives them a bright smile and nods her head in her thanks. Laxus continues to frown but he can feel his heart lighten significantly at Freed's words. He grunts and nods his head.

Freed feels his soul lift at knowing that him and his team are forgiven by the two blondes.

The celestial mage's heart drops in worry the next moment as she points to Bickslow and Evergreen. "Are they okay?" she asks with raised eyebrows.

Freed looks to his sides and sees that Evergreen and Bickslow are staring straight at the two blondes, still unmoving due to their shock. With a cough, he reaches up and pinches one of their cheeks. Two surprise yelps of pain echo in the room as the seith mage and fairy mage jump back while holding their cheek.

"What did you do that for?!" they yell simultaneously. Freed begins to criticize them on their manners without outwardly mentioning how they were being rude. A tick forms on Evergreen's brow as she turns to snap at Freed while Bickslow grimaces. Freed instructs them that they should apologize properly as he stresses the word apologize.

Lucy deadpans and sweatdrops while Laxus has to resist sighing at his bantering teammates.

Freed clears his throat as the other two straighten up and apologize to Lucy and Laxus at the end of their argument. Lucy accepts their apologies with a wide smile while Laxus continues to frown.

"May I ask why you are here Lucy?" Freed tries his best to sound polite without sounding like he is trying to pry into their business.

"We're just watching a movie. I'm not hurting him or anything," she hurriedly explains to prevent any wrong ideas. The last thing she needs is for them to think that she is trying to cause any harm to Laxus…again.

Evergreen waves her hand in front of her face. "We didn't think you were, we had no ideas about that what so ever! None at all," it comes out as slightly desperate and hasty.

Bickslow and Freed frown at her lack of subtlety. Laxus growls to himself at the thought of his team hurting Lucy in his house. They might be able to pull some stunts around his home but there will be a cold day in hell before he allows that to happen.

Lucy breathes a sigh of relief as she sits back against the couch. She glances up at the clock to see that it is a half past eight.

"Oh! Is it really that late? God, I better get going," she gasps as she remembers her promise.

"You're leaving?" Laxus asks in surprise as he watches her hurriedly get up from beside him. If she is leaving because of those three he swears he is going to-

"Yeah, Erza's probably worried sick. I'm already thirty minutes late as it is," she quickly says as she pulls out the movie and puts it in its case. She doesn't even want to think about what will happen if Erza goes on a rampage to find out where she has been.

Laxus' heart sinks in his chest. He isn't ready for the day to be over yet. Damn that Erza, damn the Thunder Legion, damn everything to hell. "Alright, I'll take you over there. It'll be a lot quicker," he sighs as he hauls himself up from the couch.

A bright surprised smile spreads over Lucy's lips. "Thanks Laxus, that'll help a lot," she beams up at him. He smirks down at her as she finishes grabbing her things.

The Thunder Legion gawk at Lucy and Laxus with tiny blushes on their cheeks.

They knew that Laxus must have a closer relationship with Lucy than he does with the rest of the guild due to them going on a job together but they had no idea it was at this level. It's practically impossible to miss how easily both blondes talk to one another. They seem like they've been friends for _years_. Which is no small feat when it comes to Laxus.

Not to mention how physically close they seem to be. For God's sake they were cuddling not even ten minutes ago! _Cuddling_! And he's even going out of his way for her! Laxus has never offered to take them across town yet here he is saying that he will take her like it's normal for them!

On the walk over here, they were positive that the connection between Lucy and Laxus was a new found close friendship at best. Now, after the brief time they have been in his home, it's enough for them to seriously question if there is something deeper going on between their leader and the busty celestial mage.

"Alright," Lucy says with a half fist pump, "I'm ready to go!" Laxus shakes his head at woman but follows her out into the hallway nevertheless. Freed, Bickslow, and Evergreen slowly turn their heads as the two blondes pass them to walk to the front of the house. They look at each with questioning looks before scurrying after the people who are starting to give them headaches from confusion.

Laxus opens the door as Lucy looks over her shoulder and gives the Thunder Legion a bright smile. "Goodnight you guys," she waves as she steps across the threshold.

A "goodnight", "night", and "talk to you later" are muddled together as Freed, Bickslow, and Evergreen bid her goodbye. Laxus frowns at them as he closes the front door behind him. A boom of thunder resounds through the house as Laxus takes Lucy to Fairy Hills.

Left in the empty hallway, the Thunder Legion stare dumbfounded at the front door.

"What the hell was that?" Bickslow asks as he stresses the word hell in his confusion.

Freed and Evergreen shake their heads in response.

"I thought that they were just friends," Bickslow continues as he turns toward his friends as if they will have all of the answers.

"That's what I thought too!" Evergreen agrees as she turns to face her teammates.

"So did I," Freed replies simply.

"Then why were they together?" Bickslow asks as he gestures to the living room with his hands.

All three members of the Thunder legion grasp their chins in deep thought as they try to figure out this new puzzle.

In a flash of lightning, Laxus lands on the Fairy Hills doorstop. Lucy slides her arms away from his waist to look him in the eyes.

"What time should I come over tomorrow?" she asks with a faint blush dusting her cheeks.

"Noon?" he suggests.

Lucy nods her head in agreement before gazing up with those big doe-like brown eyes to meet his stormy green ones. Soft light from the outside lacrima lamp shines beside them as Laxus begins to get lost how spellbinding her eyes are. Everything inside of him slows down almost as if he is trying to stay in this moment forever.

Lucy begins to lose track of time as she recognizes the deep comfort and immense amount of happiness that she can see flickering in his eyes. She never really thought about how much emotion lives in Laxus' eyes but now that she is able to really look into them, she feels like she can see into his very soul. And she can't help but feel overwhelmed with emotion. Her heart starts to beat faster, her skin slightly warm and tingle, and she becomes breathless.

The moment is broken by a loud crash from inside of the building. Both blondes look up in confusion. Another prominent crash occurs and this time Lucy can pinpoint it to being in one of Erza's rooms.

Lucy sweatdrops as she drops her eyes from the ceiling to look at the man in front of her. "Guess I better go check on her," she nervously chuckles as she scratches her cheek.

A noise that sounds like a reluctant groan slips out of his throat as he peers down at the smaller blonde in hopes of finding that deep chocolate hue that he finds so mesmerizing.

With a soft smile and a small wave, she opens the front door and disappears from his view. She clicks the door shut as a light smile pulls the corners of her lips upward. Her bottom lip slides between her teeth as she recalls how much fun she had today. Her heart and stomach flutter in anticipation and joy for the coming day. It would be a perfect life if every day left her feeling this peaceful, relaxed, and happy. Another crash echoes through the foyer to remind Lucy of where she is. Albeit reluctantly, she abandons the closed door to go investigate what is going on with her friend.

Laxus lingers in front of the wooden door as he listens to her receding footsteps. He hears her going up the stairs and has to resign himself in accepting that their day together is finally over, as much as he doesn't want it to be. This has been one of the best days in his life. Everything from the music to the dinner to the movie was perfect. There is nothing about this evening he would change; well maybe the whole Thunder Legion barging in on them part but that's just a small detail.

This will be one of those days he will look back on when everything in his life is going to shit and he needs something to remind him that life doesn't always suck. He feels light and serene, as if there is nothing wrong in the world. It has been a long time since he has felt this happy. It makes him look forward to the next day and all the other days he will spend with her.

A surge of pain spears through his head and he clenches his eyes shut. It doesn't matter though, his day has been too perfect for a stupid headache to ruin it.

With a small sigh, he prepares himself for facing his teammates once he arrives home. In milliseconds he dematerializes his body into lightning as he transports homeward.

Back at Laxus' house, the Thunder Legion is still trying to figure out what is going on with their leader.

Evergreen rubs the bridge of her nose in frustration. "Maybe they did have something going on before and they never told us about it," she says in exasperation as she throws her hands into the air.

"Or," Bickslow exclaims as he holds a finger in the air as he gets a brilliant idea, "they hit it off on their latest job."

"That does sound like a more reasonable explanation," Freed says as he crosses his arms in thought.

"That's gotta be it," Bickslow urges.

Another boom of thunder rattles the house. "We're about to find out," Freed says seriously as him, Evergreen, and Bickslow turn to look at the front door.

A second later Laxus walks into his house. He sees his team standing in the hallway and stops to stare at them. They each have a look of unabashed curiosity but give off no indication of treachery. Heaving a heavy sigh, he chooses to forgo any lecture about how they disobeyed him and just bask in the aftereffects of a wonderful day. He gives them a brief nod before walking past them to the kitchen. Bickslow, Evergreen, and Freed exchange questioning looks before following the blonde male.

Laxus grabs a beer from the refrigerator as everyone enters the kitchen and leans back against the counter; a small smile on his face and content with the world.

"Laxus?" Freed questions as he eyes the man. The lightning slayer seems very…happy. As much as it makes his heart soar to know that the man who he looks up to is pleased, he can't but feel a bit anxious about being left in the dark about Laxus' relationships.

Laxus hums as he looks at his three guests. "You want something to drink?" he says before taking a sip of his beer.

Evergreen frowns and crosses her arms at the man, Freed keeps his stoic and neutral appearance about him, and Bickslow shoots a thoughtful look at the refrigerator in consideration of having a drink.

"Well?" Evergreen asks expectantly.

"Well what?" Laxus replies with a side glance at the fairy mage.

"Aren't you going to tell us what's going on?" she says it like it's obvious.

"There's nothing going on," he says with a drink after a small pause.

Deciding that he is slightly thirsty, Bickslow opens the refrigerator and instantly feels his jaw drop to the ground.

Inside sits containers of food that have been covered up for storage. Usually this wouldn't be such a strange sight but this is Laxus' fridge he's talking about. There is _never_ any sort of cooked food in there, unless it's take out, and let him tell you, this food is _not_ take-out. Bickslow looks at it up and down as if he is seeing the miracle of food for the first time.

"Laxus, we do not mean to intrude on your privacy but we do wish to know about your relationship with Lucy," Freed says as kindly as he can muster without sounding too pushy. He has learned over the years of working with the blonde man that Laxus appreciates a straight forward approach rather than being dropped hints. But at the same time, Laxus doesn't like to feel like someone is trying to force him do anything. It's truly a fine line.

"Like I said before, there's nothing going on," he says as his infamous scowl returns to his face. He takes a long drink of his beer as the corners of Freed's mouth slide downward into a frown.

Evergreen rolls her eyes and glances at Bickslow for help but winds up doing a full double-take when she sees the seith mage staring dumbly into an open refrigerator. "What are you doing?" she demands in a high pitch that she reserves for when she sees someone doing something incredibly stupid.

Freed and Laxus turn from their conversation to look curiously at the man.

Bickslow leans back from the refrigerator to give Laxus an incredulous look. "Why is there food in here?" he asks idiotically. It sounds like the most ridiculous question on earth, to ask why there is food in a refrigerator.

Evergreen and Freed blink in surprise while Laxus huffs through his nose.

The green-haired man and the brunette each step in front of the cold container to see what the hell their teammate is talking about. Laxus can't have food in there, he never does. The man can hardly cook bacon and eggs.

It took Freed a week to teach him the basics of the particular breakfast and that is a week the rune mage will never forget. He learned just how inept the man is at anything related to culinary skills. The Thunder Legion has been trying to figure out how their leader doesn't starve on a daily basis for years now.

Sure enough, they see the containers littered inside the refrigerator once they have a good look. Just like Bickslow, their jaws drop in surprise. All three of the Thunder Legion slowly turn toward Laxus and give him stunned looks as the fridge bleeds out cold air.

"Would you close the damn door already?! You're going to spoil my food!" Laxus gruffly demands in irritation.

They snap out of their stupor. Freed and Ever step away while Bickslow takes the once in a lifetime opportunity to grab a few of the containers to make himself a plate. Laxus frowns at the man but he seemingly ignores the glare being thrown his way.

"Where did you get so much food Laxus?" Ever asks curiously as she puts her hands on her hips.

Laxus looks pointedly away from his prying teammates. He knows that he can't cook and all but they are acting like the whole world flipped on its side. "If you must know, Lucy cooked it," he sighs.

Ever and Freed's eyebrows shoot into their hairline. "Lucy cooked? For you?" Ever asks amazed.

"Something wrong with that?" Laxus grunts before taking one final swig on his beer. He aims his throw and pitches the bottle into the trash can with incredible accuracy and precision.

Bickslow, who has now moved to heat his food up in the oven, cackles at the turn of the conversation. "We're just surprised is all. Although I guess we shouldn't be, seeing as how you two were on a date and everything," he says with a big grin as his tongue rolls out.

Freed gives his teammate a disapproving glare while Ever frowns. Leave it to Bickslow to be forward and blunt about the whole situation. They were hoping they could ease their leader into telling them the truth but that's completely screwed now.

"What he means, is that we wouldn't have been so caught off guard if you had told us that you and Lucy are together," Ever elaborates on Bickslow's point as she shakes her head with a tired sigh.

Bickslow widely grins and Freed nods his head slowly in agreement.

Laxus straightens up as his face registers the shock he feels at his team's words. Did he just hear that right? Do they really think that he and Lucy hooked up? His surprise quickly becomes masked by a face of indifference as he tries to clear up the misunderstanding.

"We weren't on a date and I don't have any kind of feelings like that towards Lucy," he replies. His dragon instinct hisses at him in response.

The Thunder Legion freezes in place to stare at him as if he has lost his mind.

"What are you talking about?" Ever huffs in exasperation. "You just said that you and Lucy had dinner and watched a movie together!"

"We did," Laxus says nonchalantly as he turns to fully face the female. "But that doesn't mean that it was a date."

"How is that?" Freed asks with a straight face despite his internal confusion.

When Laxus said that he wasn't on a date with the blonde female, Freed's mind raced to conjure up any reason as why the two were together but not _together_. He invented multiple reasons that includes: Laxus was starving and Lucy was only trying to help, Laxus is sick and she is nursing him back to health (although he doesn't seem to have a sickly tint to his skin), and Lucy's house burned down and Laxus, being the wonderful human being that he is, offered her a home until she can get back onto her feet again. Each one of these thoughts however was shoved away due to the memory of how Laxus had his arm around her shoulders when they were cuddling on the couch. That would suggest the two had a much closer relationship and contradicted Laxus' words. That…that is what has him so confounded.

"It's a long story," Laxus grunts as he crosses his arms. He is honestly not in the mood to deal with these guys right now. He just had a perfect day and he really doesn't want to diminish the peaceful feeling by explaining his business to his prying team.

"We got time," Bickslow says somewhat too cheerfully as he pulls his plate out of the oven and hops up to sit on the counter. The longer he stays, the more food he can have. He takes a bite of the potato salad and groans at the taste. If the other three weren't in the room with him right now, he probably would have thought he died and went to heaven. "Wow, this is great!" he announces loudly with his mouth full.

Laxus glares at the seith mage. A part of him is happy that he is not the only one that thinks Lucy's cooking is delicious but the other part is jealous that someone other than him gets to taste her food. He looks to see Evergreen with an expectant look and a patiently waiting Freed by her side. Laxus heavily sighs and leans back against the counter. "You guys aren't going to let this go, are you?" he finally asks with a huff.

The Thunder Legion shakes their heads. Evergreen leans against the counter alongside a full mouthed Bickslow and sneers at his bad manners. Freed remains standing while waiting for Laxus' explanation.

Laxus heaves a heavy sigh as he tries to decide on where to start. "I take it that you heard about our first job?" he asks as he eyes his team warily.

The three in question tense up slightly before silently nodding.

"Well on the job," he continues, "we were hungry and had no money. In a forest, I killed a deer and Lucy cooked it so we could have something to eat. She has real knack for cooking— "

"Here, here," Bickslow cheers in agreement as he holds up a fork with a piece of chicken stuck on the tongs. Freed and Ever cast an annoyed look at the seith mage for interrupting the story.

"Anyway. When we got done with the job, Lucy asked Tweed about these three silver celestial sprit keys that he owned. She didn't like the way they were being treated and told him that outright. The bastard told her that he would only sell them to her and if she didn't buy them that they would remain in their current state. She was upset so I went back and bought them for her. When she asked how she could pay me back, I told her to make me dinner for a week in exchange. She seemed happy about the arrangement and she was excited that she could look at my music collection too," he says with a slight shrug. The permanent memory of her lips on his cheek and the look in her eyes from the night he gave her the keys flits though his mind and his heart flutters in his chest. He silently clears his throat as he concentrates back on the current situation.

"I was going to meet her the next day so she could start her week but three certain people," he gives them a knowing glare, "fucked that to hell and we went on another job. During the job we started watching this series of movies and wanted to finish it when we got back home. We decided that we could just watch the damn movie after she cooks each night. And that's it," he takes a deep breath.

By the end of the story, Laxus can see Freed considering his words carefully, Bickslow nodding his head in satisfaction while chewing a huge bite of food, and Evergreen squinting her eyes in suspicion behind her glasses at him.

"It seems perfectly logical to me," Freed says finally. The rune mage feels somewhat relieved to have such a sensible answer to the circumstances regarding Lucy's visit. He is well aware that Lucy is a very kind soul and would want to repay Laxus for his gift, hence the dinners. The movie watching and the music is just a coincidence. The only thing that bugs him is how Laxus seems slightly more defensive when they talk about Lucy but he passes it off as both blondes being friends and Laxus wanting to protect her as such.

Bickslow feels the same way because he says, "Yeah, sounds legit to me." He then takes another bite of his hamburger and moans. "And she can come cook for you any time in my opinion," he adds while chewing.

Freed turns around to chastise the man for speaking with his mouth full of food when Evergreen's haughty voice cuts him off.

"How much did those keys cost?" she asks as she narrows her eyes more. Her female intuition is screaming at her that something doesn't quite fit. The only part of his story that seems strange is when he said that he bought the keys.

Why didn't Lucy just buy them with her own money? Why did _Laxus_ have to do it? Why would Lucy make him dinner for an entire week when all he did was buy her three little silver keys? She can understand her making him dinner for one or two nights but not a feast and not for a whole week. The only thing she can come up with it is that Lucy couldn't afford the keys but Laxus could. So then how much did he spend?

Laxus furrows his eyebrows in confusion at the woman. He just explained everything to her and she's worried about how much money he spent?

"Why does that matter?" Bickslow asks after he swallows his food.

"Oh, it matters," she says simply without looking away from Laxus. The most the man has ever spent on her, Freed, or Bickslow was close to thirty-thousand jewel for a bottle of wine for each of them to have on their two-year anniversary of becoming the Thunder Legion. That's why if Laxus went out and spent a lot of money on Lucy after doing just one mission with her then he is probably trying to impress her. Otherwise he would have never bought them for her. And if he is trying to impress her then he obviously has deeper feelings for the celestial mage than just friendship. It all depends on how much he spent; the more money he spent, the deeper the feelings. The sad part is that he might not even recognize how he feels and that's what is worrying her.

Laxus shrugs his shoulder before looking at her with a blank look. "Five-million," he says indifferently. What's the big deal?

A cold whistling breeze sweeps through the quiet house as Evergreen, Bickslow, and Freed freeze in speechless, flabbergasted silence with their eyes wide open and jaws dropped. A piece of food drops out of Bickslow mouth and into his lap but the mage makes no movement to clean himself up.

Several minutes pass as they remain perfectly still as if they are frozen in time.

Laxus begins to feel somewhat regretful about tell them what he spent on the keys after seeing this reaction. An unsettling urge to run away from their unblinking gazes passes through him but he refrains from even twitching.

"Yo-you spe-spent h-how mu-much?" Evergreen stutters through her locked jaw.

Laxus looks away and tightens his crossed arms more along his chest. "Five million," he restates. A part of him wants to tell them that he couldn't help what Tweed was asking for in terms of price but his pride won't let that excuse slip past his throat.

His words seem to snap Ever out of her reverie. "You spent five-million jewel on three silver keys!?" she hisses in disbelief. Ooooh, this is _so_ much worse than she could have imagined.

Laxus nods his head to answer her question.

"Why?" she demands dumbstruck.

He glances at her from the corner of his eye before turning back away. "Lucy wanted them and they were trapped in that house," he grumbles. Why does he feel embarrassed to be telling them this?

Ever gives him an incredulous look as she throws her hands in the air. "You just said that you don't like her!" she almost screams in frustration. Is he really that blind?!

"I don't," he gruffly defends himself.

Evergreen purses her lips together in a tight line and clenches her fist as she groans in irritation. How can he be this ignorant?! It makes her want to throttle the man.

Freed and Bickslow come back to reality when they hear Ever groan. They share a questioning look and immediately know that they are thinking the exact same thing. Hearing and seeing Evergreen only makes them believe that she realizes the truth too.

Laxus likes Lucy.

No sugar coating it, no beating around the bush, no games.

Laxus likes Lucy…

…and the man is absolutely clueless about it.

Freed clears his throat as he tries to give Ever a moment to compose herself and Bickslow to wipe up his lap. "Laxus," he says gently, "you must admit that what you did was highly irregular."

"I don't think it was," Laxus snorts as he looks the green-haired man in the eye.

All three members of the Thunder Legion deadpan at Laxus. Are they really going to have to explain this to him?

It seems that they must. Great…

"Is it possible," Freed continues in his calm voice, "that you might have invited Lucy over to your house in order to get to know her more in a different manner?"

"What?" Laxus asks confusedly with a cock of his eyebrow.

"A date Laxus, he's asking if you think that you had a date with Lucy," Evergreen clarifies from her position at the counter, still partially miffed.

Laxus scowls and has to resist calling them idiots. He just he explained why Lucy was over here for fuck's sake. "No. We just listened to some music, had dinner, and watched a movie," he insists.

Being the bravest of the group, or the dumbest in other people's opinion, Bickslow looks at Laxus with an expression that is mixture between serious, hesitance, and thoughtfulness. "Look Boss, I'm not saying you're wrong but what you just described is what is known as a date."

He is totally telling Laxus that's he's wrong.

"It was not," Laxus growls toward the man. He sighs heavily as tries to take a different route in the conversation. "Friends can hang out without being on a date," he claims in a stern voice.

"True," Bickslow nods, "but what you did was a little more than being _casual_ friends."

"How so?" Laxus asks baffled.

"Think about it," Ever interrupts much to Bickslow's chargin. "You offer to show her your music collection," she holds up one finger as she begins her listing, "take her on a job straight out of the blue, end up buying her three new keys for an unbelievably ridiculous amount of money, have dinner together, watch movies together, and then makes sure she gets home safely. Doesn't that sound somewhat like your trying to impress her?"

"No, it sounds like we're being friends," Laxus persists in his argument that they are, in fact, _just_ friends.

"Of course we shall not forget the matter of you two cuddling," Freed says suddenly as he joins the conversation once again.

Laxus turns to slightly gawk at Freed as if his most loyal follower just committed high treason while Evergreen and Bickslow light up as they silently congratulate the man for being a genius.

"We were not cuddling," Laxus denies Freed's claim defiantly. A twinge of guilt threads through heart at the words and how false he knows they are. Him and Lucy have been cuddling for nearly a week now and he can honestly say that he doesn't mind being so close to the celestial spirit mage. Not that he will readily admit to that. If these three saw the state him and her were in while watching the movies in the hotel, he is sure he would never hear the end of it.

Evergreen frowns at his blatant lie. "Oh? Then what would you call it?" she challenges him with a raised eyebrow.

 _Cuddling_ , a voice in his head replies immediately. He immediately shoves that thought strand away and tries to think of anything that would justify his and Lucy's positions earlier. "She was scared," he says finally after a long pregnant moment.

A knowing smirk spreads along Ever's lips, now she's getting somewhere. "That doesn't answer my question," she says somewhat haughtily.

Laxus can feel his throat constrict as his mouth mysteriously dries up on the spot. His mind reels as it attempts to figure out how to get his self out of the hole he dug. Every second that passes adds to the tension in the air. After nearly a minute of staring at Evergreen while his mind comes up with no excuses, Laxus huffs in defiance and turns away from the fairy mage's stare.

To say that Ever's ego and self-pride swelled two sizes that moment is an understatement. Freed narrows his eyes while Bickslow grins with a smile that almost splits his face. They quickly grasp what Evergreen is trying to do and silently applaud the woman for it. With a little bit of luck, they might actually make Laxus realize the true meaning behind his rendezvous by the end of the night.

"In that case," Freed announces as he tries to follow up his female teammate. "You wouldn't be upset if we came over for dinner tomorrow night? We need a way to apologize properly to Lucy and a home cooked dinner sounds perfect" he says slyly.

Every muscle bunches up in Laxus' shoulders as he tenses against the counter. Annoyance and irritation seers his heart at the thought of not being able to fully enjoy the type of company that he has only ever felt with Lucy.

"No, you can't come over tomorrow," Laxus growls as he glares coldly at his guests. He is not going to let these three purposefully ruin his perfect days because of some fucked up idea that he has some deeply hidden romantic feelings for his fellow blonde. They are just friends sharing a common interest in music, eating, and watching a movie. That's it.

"I thought you were having a friendly dinner with Lucy though," Freed says thoughtfully.

"I am," Laxus sighs.

"So why can't we come? We're your friends too," Evergreen smirks as she fans herself innocently.

Laxus groans as he rubs a hand through his hair in frustration. "Because I invited Lucy and only her," Laxus insists with agitation. "Besides none of you would enjoy the music anyway."

"You don't know that. We could find something we like," Bickslow grins in response.

Laxus gives him a disbelieving look. "No, you are still not allowed," Laxus states boldly and clearly.

A moment passes before Freed clears his throat once more. "I wish to be clear on this Laxus," Freed says a bit inquisitively. "You wish for Lucy to come over to your home to bond over your shared interests for a friends only gathering. Yet we," he nods to his self, Bickslow, and Ever, "are not allowed to be here at the same time, despite being your friends also, so you may enjoy your time alone with Lucy. Is that correct?"

Laxus opens his mouth to confirm the green-haired man's statement but quickly shuts it when the words fully sink in. Freed is right but he's also wrong. The way Freed phrased the whole situation makes it sound like very much like a date and that's obviously not what it is. There must be a different way to express what this situation is and not make it sound like a date.

The words tumble around in his head as he tries to reword the sentence. All he wants to do is say that he wants to spend time alone with Lucy as they listen to music, eat dinner, and watch some movies. Without all of the romantic shit.

In his attempt he internally curses his treacherous inability to form different coherent phrases to adequately describe his actions. After many long minutes of contemplation, Laxus realizes that no matter how he phrases it, no matter what words he uses, it always comes out sounding like a date. God damn his pathetic communication skills.

The picturesque memory of Lucy kissing his cheek and smiling up at him with those big warm eyes flashes through his mind. Laxus stares at the floor as his heart throbs at the imagery. Excitement, calmness, happiness, and anticipation twirl together inside of his soul and reminds him of the mess of emotions he felt that night she kissed him. It reminds him how she was the only thing he could think about. It reminds him how she is the only one to ever cause him to feel like that. It made him feel so…so…what? What would someone call that? What do you call it when someone makes you feel happy, confused, excited, and calm at the same time? He always heard that is what love feels like but he's not in love…right? The thought stirs a powerful force in his being and fills his chest with something light and airy that makes him feel more complete. It only serves to confuse him as his mind insists that he is not in love.

Laxus starts to breathe a little bit heavier as he turns his thoughts over in his mind. Seeing Laxus finally starting to begin to realize that there could be potentially romantic feelings involved in his relationship with Lucy, Bickslow drives the final nail in the coffin of his denial.

"You know," Bickslow says with a shit eating grin, "if Lucy can cook like this, I think I might just ask her out." It's a risky move but hey, go big or go home.

The room goes deathly quiet in Laxus' mind. All of the stressful and confusing emotions that he feels from these three's pestering, meddling, and questions during the evening instantly halts and is immediately replace by one single emotion: rage. A sudden urge to literally grind the fucker's grinning face into the fucking wall for even suggesting such a thing sweeps through Laxus' heart, mind, and body.

Before he can stop the words from leaving his mouth Laxus growls in a deep threatening voice, "Don't you dare."

"Annnnd why not?" Bickslow practically purrs in anticipation. He's almost there.

 _Because I'll fucking kill you,_ a treacherous thought screams inside of Laxus' head. Horror spears through him at the realization that he seriously considered hurting one of his closest friends for a split second.

"Because…" he mumbles as his mind reels in panic.

Laxus feels like he has been backed into a corner like a trapped rat. The fight or flight sensation kicks in and he can begin to feel his emotions rise due to the high stress caused by this whole conversation. He knows he can't bully his way out of this one, these people are his friends and they are not doing this in any form of malice or hate. They are just worried about him. That doesn't make it any less annoying though. Even if he did force them to leave him alone, that doesn't mean that they won't try later. They're persistent like that.

With flight being his only option, he attempts to stop the conversation from going any further before he does or says something he knows he'll regret.

"Because I don't want to discuss it right now," he bites out harshly as he tries to reign in his thoughts and emotions. It's a lame excuse and he knows it but he can't really think up anything else on the spot. His mind and emotions are way too fucked up for that.

Bickslow's grin doesn't falter as a glint of success glimmers in his eye. He knows that severe tone; that's the tone Laxus uses when he's fighting a losing argument. It's used a lot whenever the lightning dragon slayer dares to get into a verbal battle with the rune mage. Laxus just quits arguing when he knows he's lost and immediately blockades his emotions so he comes off cold, rough, and menacing. It works great for strangers, not so much his own team.

Freed tosses a disapproving frown at Bickslow for pulling so a lowly trick before trying to soothe his leader. "Laxus—"

"Get out. I'm tired of this shit," Laxus demands crudely as he pushes off of the counter with his arms crossed.

The Thunder Legion exchange glances but no words pass between them. They know they have made their point and achieved their initial goal of apologizing to Laxus. Freed nods and slightly bows to Laxus in farewell before leading a smirking Bickslow and a frowning Evergreen out the door.

Laxus huffs through his nose when he hears the front door close. A faint wisp of relief blows through him but is quickly replaced with all of the emotions were pushed aside when Bickslow made his little comment.

Feeling another headache coming on, Laxus turns off all of the lights and heads upstairs. He quickly undresses and throws himself into bed, only to have his mind invaded by thoughts and questions of Lucy.

Memories of her smiling, laughing, eating, sleeping filter through his mind like a never ending movie. Happiness, nervousness, jitteriness, hesitancy, and every other emotion swirl together inside of his chest, stomach, and head to create a jumbled mess. It makes the lightning slayer turn over on his side and clutch at his head in frustration.

All of these feelings…what the hell do they mean? Are they good? Are they bad? Did he make them or are they made from the power of suggestion? Everything is so twisted and jumbled that he can hardly make any sense out of anything.

Laxus rolls over to his other side and takes several deep breaths as he counts to twenty. He needs to get himself under control. Nothing will be solved if he can't even have a single train of thought for more than five seconds before it switches to another topic.

The air seems to help Laxus as he begins to sort out his thoughts.

Instead of focusing on how he feels and how much of a disaster his entire emotional state is currently, Laxus decides to start with logic. He knows that the pinnacle of his emotions is based on Lucy. Whether it is his own interactions with the woman or suggestions from the Thunder God Tribe; it all revolves around Lucy.

Freed, Bickslow and Evergreen suggests that he has romantic feelings for his fellow blonde while he says that he doesn't.

Why would he? Sure he is physically attracted to Lucy but what man isn't? He sees how most of the male population looks at her and how most of them would chew off their right arms to have even the slightest chance with her.

A bubble of rage ferments in his stomach at the thought of another man touching the soft curves he has had his arm wrapped around a mere hour ago. The anger is quelled as he imagines how she felt against his body as he laid with her in the hotel bed. The memory stirs his lower region and he can feel himself begin to harden.

Quickly dismissing that train of thought so he doesn't get an unnecessary hard on, he considers all of the emotions during his jobs with Lucy. Everything was normal while they worked together for the two jobs they went on even if there were some moments that wouldn't have happened if he went with the Thunder Legion. But all of those were fucking justified; she only tried to help him with his motion sickness, she was under the effect of the ring, they were making up questions for their game, and she was scared during the movie. There wasn't anything romantic about those.

His instincts snarl in protest from within his soul but Laxus ignores them.

So that only leaves the time he spent listening to music with her. All of the positive bright emotions come flooding back to him and Laxus can't help the smile that spreads along his face. He really did enjoy the time he spent with Lucy today.

Nobody has ever really cared about his type of music except for him and, though he will always outwardly deny it, it always made him feel like a reject. Then Lucy came along and now he feels like he's not alone anymore. There is someone else now that understands a part of him that no one else ever has.

Is it wrong to want to indulge in a common interest with someone else? No, of course not. Everyone else does it so why can't he? The person he spends time with just happens to be a female. It's a simple coincidence. Nothing more. The Thunder Legion was just looking for something that isn't there.

Everything he felt that day was just the peace and comfort of having a friend that loved music like he does. Of course it would seem like something was going on with them when there actually isn't; Freed, Bickslow, and Ever wouldn't be able to tell the difference because they weren't there. Otherwise they would have seen that he and Lucy are just friends. All of their bullshit just made him angry and that's why he felt so trapped by their questions earlier. That's all.

He does not have any feelings toward Lucy, aside from friendship and a common interest in music. And he's not going to stop sharing his music collection with her just because his three closest friends don't agree with him.

With a huff, Laxus flips onto his back to try to get some sleep. Lucy is coming over tomorrow and he doesn't need to be falling asleep while she's here. Deep inside of his chest he can feel his heart ache in sadness and loneliness while his instincts throw a fit. His heart and soul know that he is just making up excuses but Laxus merely creates a wall of denial to suppress the feelings boiling inside of him.

* * *

Lucy languidly strolls up the stairs toward Erza's rooms as she recalls her evening.

Everything was so perfect. She was allowed to cook what she pleased while listening to music that she has only dreamed about getting to listen to again. All of the food was cooked to perfection and she was able to feel satisfaction in knowing that she was able to complete part of her repayment as she watched Laxus practically groan at the delicious taste. During dinner she asked Laxus various questions in regard to the music and he was always willing to answer her to the best of his knowledge. Then he kept her calm and safe during the movie…

The mere thought of the lightning dragon slayer makes her heart felt so light, airy, and positively peaceful. Butterflies fly around in her stomach and her cheeks warm slightly as she smiles to herself.

He might not seem it outwardly but Laxus is a protective and caring man. Albeit somewhat cocky and arrogant, especially when he talks about stuff he knows, but still a caring man. He is also direct about everything, a quality she appreciates, but at the same time not so forthcoming that he involves himself in her personal business, another quality she deeply appreciates.

 _Laxus Dreyar truly is a great person to be friends with. You just have to earn his trust first,_ Lucy internally giggles to herself.

Arriving to the third floor, Lucy heads for Erza's bedroom door at the end of the hall. As she walks down the hallway, she notices that there are small oval holes in the walls. The closer she gets to Erza's door, the bigger and more prevalent the holes get. Lucy gulps nervously as she finally gets Erza's door and sees a hole the size of her head right in the middle of it.

"Erza?" she calls out cautiously as she looks through the hole.

Inside she can see how Erza's living room is in complete disarray and she can hear a very familiar hollow noise coming from the bedroom right beside the living room. Bits of tables and chairs are thrown across the room and small pieces of shrapnel are lodge in the wall, floor, and ceiling. Feathers and pillow cases are strewn across the floor and look to be ripped open and thrown haphazardly around.

Worried that a fight has ensued inside of the room, Lucy tightly grasps the doorknob and pushes with all of her might.

The door flings open since it isn't actually attached to the hinges to trip an unexpecting Lucy. The blonde woman yelps in surprise as her and the door go crashing face first into the floor with a thud.

"Ow…" Lucy whines pathetically as she rubs her head and rises to her knees.

"STOP YOU VILE FIEND!" Erza's murderous voice roars through the room as a sword slices through the wall and cuts through the air.

"AHHHHHHH!" Lucy screams in horror as her eyes go wide and she quickly leans backwards to dodge the incoming projectile. The metal of the sword passes so close to her face that Lucy feels the breeze on her cheeks as the sword barely misses her and impales itself into the wall. Lucy falls backwards on her butt as her chest heaves from adrenaline and her face is frozen in fear.

"YOU WILL NOT ENTER!" Erza leaps out from the other room dressed in her Black Wing Armor with her humongous sword at the ready. "Lucy?" she asks confusedly when she sees her friend lying on the ground. "Where is the Alien?" she demands as she looks around the room for the tall, black creature.

Lucy twists her head to look at the red-headed woman in mortified stupor. "What are you talking about!? It was just me and you nearly killed me!"

"Oh," Erza says in a hushed voice before straightening herself, "I see. In that case, I am terribly sorry. I thought you were one of the aliens and I was going to kill you," she says as if it is no big deal. She requips out of her armor and into her pajamas with the heart crux insignia on them as she looks down at her guest.

Lucy gapes at her host. She is not sure if she wants to cry in relief or scream in anger right now.

"Erza? Is it gone?" a very timid, little voice speaks out from around the corner.

"It's alright Wendy, it is only Lucy," Erza responds.

Wendy peeps around the corner and breathes a sigh of relief when she sees no alien but finds the dumbstruck blonde instead. Carla walks in beside Wendy trying to look unfazed but Lucy can see the slight tremble to her tail.

"What is going on?!" Lucy demands dumbly as she tries to get her limbs to function again.

"We are watching the moves you gave us," Ezra says proudly as she crosses her arms. "They are quite good."

"Movies?" Lucy asks as she blinks up at Erza. "You mean the Alien movies? That is what this is all about?"

"We thought one of the aliens was coming to get us so Erza tried to stop it," Wendy says shyly as she fiddles with her fingers.

"Exactly," Erza nods in agreement as she offers Lucy her hand in assistance. "Let's us go continue to watch the movie. We are two-thirds the way through the second one."

Lucy unconsciously takes Erza's outstretched hand and is yanked upwards by the knight. Without ever letting go, Erza drags Lucy into her bedroom and none-too-gently pushes her onto the couch that has been drug into the room to sit between her and Wendy. They face a medium sized lacrima screen with the second Alien movie paused.

"What happened to all of the walls?" Lucy wonders out loud as she looks around the bedroom. The bedroom looks just like the living room, except with more holes and more destroyed furniture.

"Erza becomes very invested in the movie," Carla answers dryly as she shakes her head in shame.

Lucy cocks her head to side in confusion and is about to ask what that meant when Erza's excited voice makes the blonde woman jump with a start.

"On with the movie!" Erza exclaims with a glimmer of anticipation in her eye.

Lucy sweatdrops at the woman as the movie resumes. She's got a very bad feeling about all of this and for some reason, she can't help but feel like it's all her fault…

* * *

The next day Lucy wakes up at one o'clock. She silently curses the time as she maneuvers herself out from Erza's death hold around her waist. She tries to be as quiet as possible as she tip toes across the room so to not wake the demon woman from her sleep. Grabbing a shredded piece of paper and an unbroken pen, Lucy leaves a note saying that she has gone to Laxus' house for the rest of the day on what's left of Erza's dresser and quickly hightails it out of Fairy Hills.

Lucy drags her feet from exhaustion as she makes her way to Laxus' house. She knows she must look awful but she can't really bring herself to care. Not after the night that she had.

If she had known what watching a horror movie with Erza entitled, she would have never let the brutal woman see the damn disc cover. She really needs a whole day at a spa to relax from last night but a hot shower will have to suffice for now.

Thirty minutes later, Lucy knocks on Laxus' door. Several minutes pass before she knocks again and the door is hurled open with a pissed Laxus behind it. All of his anger instantly dissipates though when he sees the state of the blonde woman in front of him.

"The hell happened to you?" he asks in disbelief, his voice thick with sleep, as he takes in her full appearance. Her hair is complete disarray with knots in different sections and strands poking out in unnatural ways. Several small bruises and cuts are scattered along her legs and arms. Her shirt is slightly ripped at the shoulder so it slides down her arm. Dark bags show under eyes and she appears to have gained some serious anxiety issues overnight.

And here he thought that he had a rough night. He hardly slept a wink, with all of his emotions practically kicking his guts repeatedly and all, but at least he doesn't look like shit.

Lucy deadpans in the most annoyed facial expression she can muster in her exhausted, stressed condition. "I was Erza's movie buddy," she retorts dryly and almost bitterly. "I…am never…and I mean _never_ ," she hisses in guarantee with a flick of her wrist, "watching another horror movie with Erza…ever again."

Laxus' eyebrows shoot into his hairline. He is tempted to get the full story out her but one look at her irritated face shoves that desire away. He wordlessly steps aside so Lucy can enter his home and offers his guest room to her. Lucy gives him a small gracious smile as comical tears of relief flow over her cheeks. A look of uncomfortableness seeps onto Laxus' features and Lucy giggles at the man.

Lucy walks up the stairs and instantly falls into bed. She wants to take a small nap before showering and starting her second day of cooking.

* * *

"What's this one?" Lucy asks curiously as she plucks a dark green album labeled _Tales of Mystery and Imagination_ by Alans Parsons Project from Laxus' music collection.

"Just another album. It's based off of some stories by a guy named Edgar Allan Poe," Laxus replies from beside her. They are currently picking out some music to listen to while Lucy cooks.

Lucy's face lights up when she hears the author's name. "No way! Really!?" she gasps as she looks back and forth between the lacrima disc and Laxus.

Laxus grunts in confirmation, wondering what the big deal is.

"Does it have a song about _The Raven_?" she asks excitedly as she starts to put the disc in the music player.

"Yeah, it's called _The_ _Raven_ ," Laxus responds dryly, still not understanding where all of this excitement is coming from.

Lucy gives him a sarcastic frown as she turns the music up. Both blondes walk into the kitchen as the album begins with a man reciting lines of poetry.

"I just hope it's like the poem," Lucy says matter-of-factly as she ties on her apron.

Laxus shrugs his shoulders after he crosses his arms. "Never read it so I can't tell ya," his voice holding no emotion.

Laxus snaps her head toward the man with her mouth agape. "You've never read it!?" she demands loudly and in complete shock.

A deep scowl spreads across Laxus' face as he remains silent.

Somehow Lucy's jaw drops lower as she becomes even more stunned. "Seriously!?"

A small tsk escapes through gritted teeth as Laxus glares at his guest. For fuck's sake the woman doesn't need to say it like it's some kind of atrocity.

Lucy holds up her hands in surrender as she slightly sweatdrops at the man. _Jeez he doesn't have to get angry about it…_

Giving him a small reassuring smile she resumes her cooking. "It's just surprising is all," she tries to justify her reactions. "I really enjoy reading his short stories and poems."

"Doesn't he write horror stories? I thought that you don't like scary shit," Laxus states almost judgmentally.

Lucy gives him a lopsided complicated grin. "I usually don't," she admits honestly, "but when I want to read something like that, he's kinda the first one I go to."

Laxus hums quietly to himself.

"I really like _The Raven_ , I know it's cliché but it's one of my favorites," the blonde woman continues as she opens a package of steak. "It's about a lonely man that just lost the woman he loved. He's in his study when this knocking happens at his door…"

Lucy then goes on to describe what the meaning and symbolism of the poem. Laxus listens silently to the woman explain in vivid detail as she flawlessly moves about the kitchen cooking his supper. The music in the background continues to play and tempts Lucy into switching between different stories and explaining each of them.

Meanwhile, outside of Laxus' house, Freed, Bickslow, and Evergreen are peering through lacrima binoculars at Laxus' kitchen window while hiding in a thick line of bushes.

"And tell me again why you have these things?" Evergreen asks sardonically about the binoculars toward Bickslow without looking away from window.

"I use them for bird watching," he lies smoothly as a lecherous grin spreads across Bickslow's face as he remembers all of the good times he has spent with his _observations_. Especially at the women's bathhouse…

Ever gives the man a disapproving scowl before turning back toward her binoculars. How did she ever wind up with a pervert as a teammate?

"Bickslow, Ever, focus. Our mission is to observe Laxus and Lucy, not to discuss the intention of personal property," Freed chastises them as he slightly focuses his lenses.

Ever huffs in annoyance while Bickslow's tongue lolls out.

Inside of their binoculars, they see Laxus leaning against the kitchen counter with a disturbed look on his face while Lucy animatedly talks and almost dances around the kitchen. Suddenly she makes violent stabbing gestures with the kitchen knife and Laxus leans back slightly.

Comedic horror strikes the Thunder Legion but they deflate in relief when they see Laxus laugh at Lucy releasing a string of curses as she accidently mixes the wrong ingredients together. They really can't tell what the hell the conversation is about but at this rate they are all going to have heart attacks.

"Just look at them!" Ever exclaims as she briefly glances at her teammates. "I knew there was something going on!"

"I agree," Freed replies with a straight voice.

As him, Ever, and Bickslow left last evening, they conjured up the idea of watching how the Laxus and Lucy interact to see if their leader really does hold any feelings toward the blonde woman. Of course, Laxus said that they couldn't come _in_ his house but he never said that they couldn't be _near_ his house. They have been waiting patiently for the past two hours for the two to enter the kitchen so they could catch a glimpse of the pair due to all of Laxus' other windows being covered by curtains.

"Yeah, just look at the way he looks at her," Bickslow chimes in. Laxus is watching the celestial mage from his spot against the counter as she starts the dish over. A small smile is spread across his lips while his soft and loving eyes follow her every movement.

"Exactly! How does he not realize what's going on?" Evergreen asks rhetorically.

"Maybe he's in denial?" Bickslow offers.

Ever rolls her eyes over to look at him like he's stupid. "Jee, I never thought of that," she drawls out.

Bickslow is about to counter with a joke when Freed hushes both of them by saying that they need to be quiet or Laxus will hear them and they will be electrocuted on the spot. Not wanting to die that evening, the Thunder Legion goes back to their studying with passing commentary on the two blondes.

A couple of hours later, Lucy continues to tell Laxus about some of Edgar Allen Poe's works through the first half of dinner. It surprises the lightning dragon slayer just how much Lucy knows about the subject. All he ever knew about the famous author is what he learned from the rock album.

Apparently, along with writing some of the most classic horror short stories and poems in history, he also wrote some of greatest romantic poems. Laxus finds that one hard to believe but doesn't voice his skepticism. The guy wrote about a man chaining another man to a wall and burying him alive in a catacomb; how the hell is he expected to believe that a man that like can write romantic shit? That's right, he can't…

Yet Lucy insists that he did. So much so that she will bring a book of his poems that she owns tomorrow so she can read him a few verses. Laxus frowns at the notion and is about to decline her offer when a distinct ringing comes from the kitchen.

Lucy leans to the side and looks at the door hiding the kitchen. "What's that?" she asks curiously.

"That's the communication lacrima," Laxus sighs as he rises from his chair.

"Who would be calling you?" Lucy continues as she follows him into the kitchen from the dining room.

"We'll see," he says indifferently.

The small orb is perched on the window sill and is emitting a ringing noise. Laxus pushes some magic into the ball and waits to see who has the fucking gall to disturb him during his dinner. Lucy stands slightly behind Laxus while looking interestedly at the lacrima.

"Laxus?" the voice of his grandfather calls out as the face of the Master appears in the orb.

Laxus' frown deepens and he has to resist the urge to sigh. "Yeah, what is it old man?" he replies with a bored tone.

Makarov scowls at his grandson. "Do you have any important plans tomorrow?"

"Not until the evening, why?" Laxus replies as he crosses his arms.

"There has been some business that came up that involves you and Lucy," Master says seriously. "I want you both here bright and early tomorrow morning. I will contact Erza right after I'm done talking with you so she can relay the message."

Lucy comes closer and pops her head out from around Laxus' back. "There's no need to get Erza Master, I'm right here," she hastily interjects with a nervous smile. The thought of seeing her female teammate so soon after last night sends a shiver down her spine. Laxus glances down at the blonde briefly before turning back toward the lacrima.

Makarov's eyes widen as his jaw slightly unhinges when he sees the celestial mage next to Laxus…in his house…at this time of night…why would they be togeth-

"Master?" Lucy calls out as the old man continues to gape at her.

Master jolts out of his stupor and turns away as he clears his throat. As he turns back, Laxus swears that he sees the faint remnants of a smile across the geezer's face as well as a twinkle of hope in his eye. Laxus suddenly has an urge to turn the communication lacrima off and pretend like he was never here.

"A-anyway, like I was saying…I want the both of you here at the guild tomorrow, no exceptions." Master says trying to level off his voice.

"What's going on?" Laxus asks gruffly, already irritated with the whole conversation.

The old man's expression turns serious once again. "I just received a call from a Detective William Murdoch from the town of Koda requesting if he may ask the both of you some questions in person tomorrow at the guild. He didn't give me any details, only that it was urgent."

"Detective? Are we in trouble?" Lucy asks worriedly as she raises her hand to her chest.

"I don't think so," Master shakes his head. "Whatever it is though, I want you both here at the guild."

Lucy nods warily, not entirely convinced.

"Koda?" Laxus interjects suddenly. "Wasn't that where that guy attacked you during our first job?" he asks as he looks down at Lucy.

Lucy racks her brain until the image of a man in armor pops up. "Oh yeah! It was the guy who cut off my hair!" she exclaims in a moment of realization. Her hand comes up to clutch her chin in thought as her mind tries to remember. "Mr. Nigh?… Mr. Legwa?...Mr. Nagla! That's it! That was his name!"

"It is possible that he is involved in this matter," Master nods his head sagely. "Make sure you are both here at the guild tomorrow," he reminds them as he gives both blondes a firm stare.

Lucy nods while Laxus grunts in confirmation. Just as Laxus is about to end the call, a wide cheeky smile spreads across his grandfather's face.

" _Enjoy_ your evening, you two," he purrs suggestively as he gives Laxus a knowing look.

Laxus violently flicks off the communication lacrima as he realizes what the old perv is insinuating. Embarrassment floods his system as he finally understands the look from earlier. _Fucking fantastic, now the old geezer thinks something is going on too. Just fucking perfect…_

"Huh?" Lucy mumbles as she cocks her head to the side. "What did he mean?"

"Nothing," Laxus harshly proclaims as he starts to trudge into the dining room. _Stupid, drunken, shitty, nosey, gramps…_

Lucy frowns at the man in annoyance before stomping after him. "No, you tell me right now. I want to kno—NATSU! HAPPY! DAMUS!" Lucy screams in mortification as her and Laxus come to an abrupt halt once they enter the doorway to the dining room. Their jaws drop in shock as they realize they suddenly have new guests.

"Oh, hey Lucy!" Damus says cheerfully with a mouth stuffed with food from his spot at the dining table. Natsu and Happy continue to pile food into their mouths at an unbelievable rate, completely ignoring the two blondes. Food is splashing everywhere in heaps as it stains the walls and floor.

"What do you two think you are doing!?" Lucy demands at the top of her lungs as she bristles in anger.

"Eating," Damus replies simply after slurping a whole line of spaghetti. "Did you cook this? This is really good."

"Yes! And it isn't for you!" she yells as she snatches a plate of chicken legs from the green-haired man. Natsu effortlessly reaches up to snatch three chicken legs from the plate and sucks them clean in one gulp. Lucy turns to give him a death glare but the pinkette total ignores her.

Laxus snaps out of his shock and clenches his teeth and fists in fury. "How the fuck did you get into my house!?" he roars as lightning crackles around his massive body. And the little fuckers are eating his goddamn food to boot!

Damus swallows some potatoes before raising an eyebrow at the furious man. "We're here to watch the movie," he replies like it's obvious.

"Movie?" Lucy blinks flabbergasted.

A loud clang resonates from living room and immediately Lucy and Laxus snap their attention toward the other room. With a quick glance at each other they leave behind Natsu, Damus, and Happy in a rush to see what the hell is going on in the living room.

Lucy flings open the living room door with Laxus at her back. They both freeze in shock as their eyes go white and jaws drop to their chests.

Inside of the living room stands the rest of Team Natsu all dressed in complete costumes from the Alien movies. Gray is dressed in a brown tank top, a camo vest, a bandana headband, and loose black cargo pants, the look reminiscent of the marines from the second movie. Wendy is wearing a pair of denim overalls over a long sleeved brown shirt and is meant to portray Newt, the little girl in the second movie. Carla, for whatever reason, is dressed as one of the facehuggers. Erza, for the love of everything unholy, is wearing a giant Xenomorph costume; complete with the scaly body, long tail, and ginormous head that looks to be a mixture of a helmet and a mask.

"Lucy, Laxus, you are both here, excellent," Erza announces proudly as she notices the shell shocked blondes standing near the entrance to the living room. "We were going to begin the movie soon."

Lucy and Laxus gape openly at the woman.

"The hell?" Laxus finally manages to say while still dumbfounded.

"Erza…what's going…on…?" Lucy mumbles in her complete shock.

"Isn't it obvious? We're going to watch the Alien movies," Gray states coolly as he stuffs his hands in his pockets. Or at least he tries to but his pants have somehow gone "missing". He curses indignantly as he begins to search for his lost pants.

Laxus blinks utterly staggered while Lucy stares at the woman in front of them incredulously.

Erza regards the looks of bewilderment on his guildmate's faces before nodding her head in understanding. "I see. You're worried that we haven't watched all of the movies yet that you are shocked to see us. Right? Well I can assure you that we are all caught up. We watched the fifth one this afternoon."

"What? No. No, that's not why at all. And what's with the costumes?" Lucy half-yells while sweatdropping.

"Do you like them? I got them today," Erza states as she does a slight pose to show off her outfit. "I thought it would enhance our movie watching experience so I got one for everybody!"

Lucy's whole stomach drops to her feet in mortification while everything suddenly fits together for Laxus.

Oh, hell no…

"And what makes you think you can be here!? You can't just break in and invade my house!" Laxus demands loudly as Wendy helps pull Gray's pants out from underneath the couch with a small cheer of success.

At that particular moment, the sounds of the backdoor being flung open and Freed, Bickslow, and Evergreen yelling "Laxus!?" in confused, concerned panic while sliding to a screeching halt in front of the living room entryway resonates through the house.

Laxus and Lucy turn their heads to glare in annoyance and gape in mock horror, respectively, at the trio's horrible timing. Not only did the three pick the worst moment to bust into Laxus' house but they also have twigs, leaves, and dirt stuck to their clothes and in their hair to add to the ridiculousness of the situation.

"Laxus, we heard yelling is everything al…right?" Freed begins in a fluster but finishes in utter confusion as him and his comrades finally notice how Erza is proudly wearing an alien costume, Gray is attempting to take off his pants (again) with Wendy blushing madly beside him and Carla reprimanding the raven-haired man, Laxus scowling at them with annoyance burning in his eyes, Lucy gawking at them like they're insane, and the sound of a huge satisfied belch filters through the walls.

"This is fantastic," Erza says suddenly with her eyes sparkling in excitement and her voice higher pitched, "We can use the other costumes now!"

"What?" The Thunder Legion, Laxus, and Lucy wonder simultaneously as they all look at the woman/alien in bafflement.

Erza flicks her wrist and red seals of magic appear under the confused group. Everyone either yelps or grunts in surprise as bright yellowish-white lights wrap around their bodies and disappear after a few seconds. Everyone turns their faces downward to look at their new change of clothes.

"Oh my god Erza!" Lucy screams in humiliation as she flushes red.

"The hell!?" Laxus and Bickslow exclaim together.

"What vile creature is this?!" Freed yells in indignity.

"This looks horrible on me!" Evergreen screeches in anger.

Erza has changed Lucy clothes to Ripley's sleeping clothes, which consists of a brown cropped tank top that ends in the middle of her stomach and a pair of low-riding matching panties. Laxus has been changed into what appears to be one of the prisoner's clothes from the third movie. All three of the Thunder Legion member's clothes have been altered into Xenomorph costumes, complete with moving tails and giant heads.

Erza nods her head proudly. "I think they look great," she states matter-of-factly.

"Holy crap Cheerleader," Bickslow says absentmindedly as he notices Lucy's visible backside.

Laxus unconsciously looks down at Lucy and almost does a double take as he realizes that she is standing in his living room wearing nothing more than a tight shirt (with no bra) and a pair of panties. He can feel his instincts, along with another part of his body, jump up at the sight. Freed looks over at Lucy and blinks in shock.

"Quit staring you perverts!" Lucy shouts at Bickslow, Freed, and Laxus as she tries to pull the edge of her shirt down to hide her panties but when that completely fails she moves her hands in front of her lady parts instead.

Gods, she is going to be completely red for a month after this!

"Are we ready to start the mo—what are you three doing here?" Damus' voice changes from happy to surprise as him, Natsu, and Happy try to enter the living room and see the Thunder Legion in costume as well.

"They are going to watch the movie with us! Now everyone take your seats!" Erza declares firmly as she moves to insert the sixth movie into the lacrima player.

Damus, Natsu, and Happy step around the shell shocked Thunder Legion, Lucy, and Laxus to go sit on the couch next to Wendy, Carla, and Gray.

Just as the menu to the movie starts to play, something inside of Laxus snaps. Being interrupted during his dinner with Lucy, having Team Natsu invade his house without his consent, having his specialty dinner ate by the said intruders, and is about to watch a movie with the home invaders that he wants to watch with Lucy privately while wearing a stupid fucking costume, makes his blood boil.

"Get the fuck out of my house!" he roars at everyone in the room as a vein pops in his forehead.

Everyone immediately stops and turns their rapt attention toward the furious blonde man. The Thunder Legion shrinks back a little and cringes, Lucy brings her arms in front of her in worry with a look of concern on her face, and the rest of Team Natsu looks either confused or (in Natsu's case) like they are eagerly preparing for a fight.

"Why?" Erza asks simply as she crosses her arms. Everyone looks at the woman.

"Because this is my fucking house and I want you out!" Laxus demands as lightning slightly buzzes around him. Everyone turns their head toward Laxus.

"Do you want us to watch the movie outside?" Erza asks with a cock of her head. Everyone looks back at Erza.

"No! I. Don't. Want. You. Here. At. All," he growls each word through gritted teeth. Now back to Laxus.

Erza, still completely unsure of what he wants from them, maintains a level glare under Laxus' death gaze. "How come? I thought we were doing a team building exercise tonight," she states in a firm tone, not backing down.

"No! No one else is supposed to be here _except_ Lucy."

"And why's that?"

"Because I _actually_ invited her!"

"So why is she allowed here and we're not? We're your guildmates too," Erza asks curiously and still very confused. Team Natsu is also really confused as they look back at Laxus expectantly.

Freed, Evergreen, and Bickslow's eyes widen and flick their eyes knowingly at each other. Laxus might have been able to push them out last night but with five more people and two exceeds, he's going to have a lot harder time making a convincing argument that isn't just a complete denial.

 _Because I just want to be alone with Lucy!_ Laxus thinks and opens his mouth to yell those very words but they get stuck in his throat. His mind stops and his heart pounds as his mind realizes what his emotions were about to make him shout. His mating instincts cheer at his seemingly acceptance of his feelings but his mental state immediately puts a halt to those feelings.

He just wants to be alone with Lucy because they are able enjoy music together. Nothing more, nothing less. But, of course, he can't dare say that because everyone else in the room will jump to the wrong conclusions and immediately get the wrong idea. Everything will go fucking wrong at that point.

His instincts growl in disapproval and demand that he quit denying the truth.

Laxus' fists clench and his teeth grate in frustration.

"Just start the damn movie," he half-grunts half-growls as he turns on his heel and stomps past his team to head into the kitchen. Lucy and the Thunder Legion watch him leave in concern while Erza and the rest of Team Natsu blink in puzzlement.

Gray shrugs his shoulders before grabbing the lacrima vision remote and pressing the play button. Erza gives him a nod before sitting herself down and commanding Lucy, Freed, Bickslow, and Evergreen to do the same.

Freed glares at Team Natsu and is about to implement order when Lucy calms him down. She says that she is going to go talk to Laxus and they might as well just watch the movie so a fight doesn't start and Laxus' belongings don't get ruined. Freed, Bickslow, and Evergreen reluctantly agree but refuse to sit with everyone else until they know Laxus is alright.

Meanwhile, in the kitchen, Laxus is internally swearing at the jumbled mess that is his emotions. Anger, frustration, irritation, and confusion all swirl around in his gut and tumble over one another. Why does everyone always make him feel this way!?

"Laxus?" Lucy says cautiously as she pokes her head into kitchen.

He grunts in acknowledgement but keeps his eyes closed. The sound of Lucy's soft voice somehow makes all of the turmoil in his gut calm down to a simmer.

"Laxus…I'm sorry about all of this," Lucy says gently.

He sighs before side-eying her, "Ain't your fault they're a bunch of morons who don't know what 'get out' means."

A small guilty frown spreads over her lips. "Yeah, it kinda is my fault. If I hadn't given Erza the movie then none of this would have happened. So I'm sorry. I know that you just wanted to eat dinner in peace and now you can't because of something that I d-"

"Just drop it will you," he interrupts with a glare. "You didn't know what they were going to do. Can't hold yourself responsible for their decisions. Just wish they didn't have come to _my_ house."

"Well that's the one thing I've learned about my team…they always wind up in your house," Lucy snorts as she recalls all of the times Natsu, Happy, Gray, and Erza have broken into her apartment. "It's just how they are, no matter how many times I've yelled at them. Tell you what, after tonight, I'll make you another dinner to make up for this whole thing. Whatever you want!" she cheers hopefully.

A smirk rises on Laxus' face after a tense moment. "Alright, you got a deal."

The idea of spending more time with the buxom blonde pleases the lightning dragon slayer. He can feel all of the turmoil in his insides turn into relief, happiness, and serenity at the thought. The night might be completely ruined but now it will be made up and there won't be any more distractions after tonight. So why not?

Two loud feminine and four masculine yells are hear throughout the house. Ever yells for Erza to calm down and stop throwing pillows while Freed demands for Gray, Natsu, and Damus to cease their arguing.

Lucy's face drops into one of dread while Laxus automatically gets into a defensive position while he looks worriedly in the direction of the living room.

"Oh god, it's started…" Lucy gasps in horror as sweat comically starts to trickle down her face.

"What has?" Laxus asks in a harsh tone.

"The movie devil…" Lucy whispers, still frozen in terror. It's going to be last night all over again…

Laxus' face morphs into confusion before he sighs and relaxes his muscles. "Come on, let's go make sure that they don't ruin anything," he states as he crosses his arms.

Lucy gulps before giving him a shaky nod. _This is going to be a disaster…_ she thinks apprehensively.

Both blondes leave the kitchen and join their friends in the living room. They have missed the first fifteen minutes of the movie but they quickly get caught up. Laxus takes a seat in his chair while Lucy sits next to Erza. The Thunder Legion finally sits on the floor and makes sure that their headpieces are not obstructing anyone's view of the lacrima screen.

* * *

"Titania! Put the couch down!" Ever screams as she prepares her fairy machine gun spell.

"Watch it Erza!" Gray yells as him, Natsu, Lucy, Wendy, Happy, Damus, and Carla are spilled out on the living room floor. Natsu lands on top of Gray sideways as Happy rolls over the top of the pinkette's head. Lucy is flung over near Laxus' feet while Wendy and Carla roll along the floor until they stumble precariously close to the lacrima screen stand.

Completely ignoring the self-proclaimed fairy queen and the ice mage, Erza throws part of Laxus' couch through his living room window into his back yard due to her anger; the couch breaks into two separate pieces and glass and wall fragments splatter everywhere on the grass.

 _That Xenomorph should not have killed the doctor! I was hoping for him to get out of the compound, dammit it!_ Erza rages inside of her head with a look of murder on her face.

"Get off of me fire breath!" Gray yells with a tick on his forehead.

"You can't tell me what to do ice princess!" Natsu shoots back as he stands up anyway.

"What did you call me!?" Gray glares as he headbutts the fire dragon slayer.

"You heard me!" Natsu returns the glare as he pushes back with his forehead.

"Quit fighting you morons!" Erza screams as she wallops the two simultaneously. They fly head first out into backyard where they skid to a stop with huge bruises in the middle of their faces.

Lucky, or unluckily depending on how you look at it, Gray and Natsu jump right back up and continue their lame name calling before quickly dissolving into a fist fight. Within seconds, the two idiots start using their magic so fire and ice are flung around the backyard.

"That is quite enough!" Freed demands as he tries to grab his rapier but, much to his dismay, sadly realizes that his sword was taken away when Erza changed his clothes.

A streak of fire zooms pass Freed's head to burn a perfect hole in his Alien headpiece. Freed's eyebrow ticks in annoyance as the hole in his mask has a little string of smoke wafting into the air.

"Let me try!" Bickslow volunteers as he hops through the hole and marches toward the fighting duo with his tail wagging behind him and his oversized headpiece bobbing up and down.

The two man fight then turns into a three man fight, with head, fists, and feet popping out of the dust ball created by the three men. Ever and Freed then join their teammate while Erza and Damus join theirs in the name of team pride.

Swords, fire balls, wooden totems, yellow balls of fairy magic, ice grenades, and runes are flying around in the air as accommodating yells and insults fill the air in this half-hearted battle.

"Guys stop! We're here to watch the movie not fight!" Wendy calls through the broken wall.

"Get a hold of yourselves and stop acting like children!" Carla chastises from beside her dragon slayer.

Laxus has his eyes covered with his hand in exasperation, still sitting in his armchair, as the fight continues right outside his house. Lucy is deadpanning while cringing at the mess that both of their teams are creating.

She knew this was going to be a disaster…

…And they still have a one more movie to finish too…

"Well," Lucy sighs heavily as she continues to deadpan, "at least they took it outside…"

Laxus finally brings his face upwards and huffs in annoyance. "Fucking idiots," he grumbles as he raises his hand to face his palm toward the fight outside.

An ear deafening crack of thunder booms over the house before a thick cord of lightning spears into the center of the fight.

Everyone freezes instantaneously. Gray and Natsu are pulling at each other's lips while Happy pulls Gray's eyebrows backwards. Erza has both Bickslow and Ever in a choke hold. Damus and Freed are facing off with a staff and sword equipped, respectively.

They all look toward the house to see a startled Wendy, a disappointed Carla, and a sweatdropping Lucy through the huge hole that used to be Laxus' window.

An awkward cough resonates from the air before everyone disentangles. Each one walks over and, instead of using the back door that is only a mere ten feet away, jumps through the window into the living room.

"We're sorry Laxus. We will fix everything tomorrow after we have finished the movies," Erza speaks in a determined tone.

Lucy facepalms and Laxus heavily sighs; of course the woman wants to continue watching the movies. Laxus simply waves off everyone off while maintain his normal empathic mask of boredom.

Erza's heart soars with happiness as she takes a seat on the floor and drags Natsu, Damus, and Gray down to sit beside her. Wendy, Lucy, Carla, and the Thunder Legion take a seat on the remaining part of Laxus couch while Happy sits on top of Natsu's head. The Thunder Legion casts warning glares at Team Natsu's back to not start any more fights.

A feeling dread fills Laxus and Lucy as the movie resumes.

This is going to be a long night…

* * *

"I think this was a successfully team building exercise," Erza says proudly as she nods sagely. Her and the rest of the Fairy Tail mages stand outside of Laxus front porch.

Laxus looks at her like she's a total idiot while Lucy has great disbelief on her face and her shoulders slump in exasperation as the bent, melted rain gutter on the front side of Laxus' house finally comes crashing down into the ground and several tiles slide off of the roof. Almost every part of his roof is either burnt, chopped, frozen, has small holes, or has some sort of rune written on it. There are scorch mark littered around every side of his house with some of his windows blown completely out. And that's just the outside…

On the inside: his dinner room is a totally pig-stein, his living room is now missing the _entire_ couch and his armchair (since they are now broken to bits in his backyard), the kitchen cabinets have multiple holes, and the down stairs bathroom toilet is currently out of order due to being cut clean in half.

All Laxus can do is sigh for the hundredth time that evening.

Just like Lucy said that morning, he is _never_ , doing this shit again. He would rather lick Kardia Cathedral clean with his tongue every week then watch another movie with the red-headed movie devil.

"We'll pay for everything Laxus. You have our word," Freed assures him with a deep bow.

"Yes, we will," Erza claims with a hand over her heart.

Laxus, once again, sighs from exhaustion and exasperation.

"Well it is getting late, we will be off," Erza announces as she turns to leave while pulling an unconscious Gray, Natsu, and Damus behind her.

"Goodnight Laxus!" Wendy says sweetly as she gives him several deep bows. She then gives him an innocent smile and runs off to catch up to the older woman.

"Have a good night Laxus," Freed bids his leader goodnight as Bickslow and Ever deliver their own goodbyes before turning and leaving behind Erza.

"I'm so sorry about all of this Laxus," Lucy says apologetically with a frown on her lips once everyone is out of ear shot.

"Well," Laxus drawls out empathetically, "it looks Fred is going to be quite busy for the next couple of weeks."

Lucy giggles as she covers her mouth with her fingertips. "Yeah, I guess you're right. Will you be alright here by yourself?"

"Yeah, the upstairs is still relatively intact. Freed, Ever, and Bickslow are going to come by tomorrow and help clean everything up."

Lucy gives him a big nod and a warm smile. "And don't forget that we have to be at the guild tomorrow morning too," Lucy reminds him with a gentle smile.

Laxus grunts in acknowledgement. Lucy waves goodbye to him as she runs off to catch up to Erza and everyone else.

Once the blonde haired beauty fades into the trees Laxus heads inside to take a very well deserved shower and to get a long, _long_ goodnight's rest.

On the way back, Lucy makes an acute observation. "You know Erza…" Lucy starts as she gives her friend a knowing look, "you can change our clothes back now."


	19. Chapter 19

**Hiro Mashima owns Fairy Tail and all corresponding characters. I only own the extra characters and plot.**

"How can you possibly say that pine green will look better than emerald?" Ever demands of Freed as she holds up the two colors side-by-side.

"It will better complement the rose red," Freed replies matter-of-factly.

Ever's face turns aghast at Freed's color choices. "We are not painting Laxus' walls rose red! They are going to be painted ruby red and the drapes will be emerald," she insists with her nose in the air.

"That is a terrible color combination," Freed shoots back as he mysteriously pulls out his selected drapery of choice as well as a paint can from seemingly out of nowhere. "I still believe the pine green and rose red are optimal."

"I still think that we should paint the walls a light yellow and the drapes should be a dark purple. It'll be two of his favorite colors!" Bickslow cackles as his tongue hangs out of his mouth.

"No!" Freed and Ever immediately reject the seith mage with cold glares.

Bickslow holds up his hands in surrender.

"The ruby red and the emerald is a perfect and classical combination," Ever continues.

Freed shakes his head while crossing his arms. "That may be true but Laxus needs a light colored wall and dark colored drapes, not a dark colored wall and light drapes. The entire mood of the room will be completely off. Not to mention how it will contrast with the kitchen," Freed pitches in at the last second.

"Oh, so you wanna fight about the kitchen now, huh!?" Ever hisses as a tick forms on her brow.

"Here we go again…" Bickslow sighs as his babies resound with "again, again!" around him.

"I refuse to allow you two to paint the walls in the kitchen cream. It needs to be something alluring like a soft teal or a deep azure. Not something boring like cream!" she spits at them with her hands on her hips.

"It needs to be something paler due to his cabinets being mahogany," Freed counters rather insistently.

A deep, irritated, tired groan of irritation spills from Laxus lips as his team gets into a heated argument of what color they are going to paint his kitchen...again. He is currently at the guild at a table on the far side of the room nursing his beer while Freed, Bickslow, and Ever are arguing nearby. Just like the old geezer ordered he got here bright and early. Lucy came in shortly thereafter and they have been here for the last few hours. He hasn't seen any of her team come into the guild yet due to it still being early in the morning.

Laxus went be Fred's Fixes before he came by the guild and told the red-haired man that he practically needs a whole new bottom floor and roof. The man was rather surprised but told Laxus that he will rebuild everything back to the way it was, both in terms of designs and colors. He went to the guild planning to tell the Thunder Legion so they would know what to expect when they pay for everything.

More out of pure luck than anything else—and totally not surprising—his team was arguing in front of the guild doors with different colors of paint cans, fabrics, caulk, tiles, and glass in their hands. He wasn't even a little bit shocked when they told him that they literally spent the entirety of their night planning how to remodel his house.

It just seems like something they would do.

All morning they have been going back and forth on every kind of possible color combination for every room. He already told them that he wants everything the way it was but he was ignored. So now he is just trying to down a beer to help rid him of his massive headache.

Meanwhile at the bar, Mirajane and Lucy watch over the Thunder Legion and their leader with smiles on their faces.

"It's nice to see them care so much about Laxus' things," Mirajane says sweetly as she wipes a glass.

"I doubt he's too happy about it," Lucy replies with a deadpan as they see Laxus send a death glare toward his teammates when they purpose making the downstairs toilet a lovely shade of green.

Mira giggles as she starts to fill drink orders for her patrons around the hall. "It's fine. Although I do wonder why he gets annoyed as much as he does. They're just trying to help."

An idea pops into Lucy head and a grin spreads across her face at Mira's words. "Hey Mira, do you have a piece of paper and a pen?" she asks excitedly.

Mira's face drops to look at the blonde woman questioningly. "Sure. Here you go," she says as she hands over a small piece of paper and a pen.

"Thanks Mira," she replies as she jots down her thought.

Mira watches Lucy curiously as she puts several orders on a tray. She tries to see what the blonde is writing about but her arm is in the way. After a few moments, she walks around the bar with the tray in hand when Lucy tells her to wait a moment. Lucy carefully folds up the piece of paper before turning to the slightly confused barmaid.

"Can you give this to Laxus?" she asks with a small giggle as she holds out the piece of paper and the pen.

Mira blinks her big, beautiful blue eyes in utter surprise. "Um…sure?" she replies half-skeptically half-questioningly as she hesitantly takes the note.

The celestial mage gives the white-haired woman a wide smile in thanks and watches giddily as Mira glides off toward the other end of the guild.

Laxus sighs tiredly as his head tips back in irritation. _Oh, for fuck's sake can those three shut the hel-_

"Here you go Laxus," Mira's voice interrupts the blonde man's thoughts as she lays down a cold frothy beer on the table in front of him.

He grunts before he rapidly takes the mug and chugs a third of the much needed alcohol.

"And this is from Lucy," Mira says as she puts the small note on the table.

Laxus flicks his eyes downward to look at the little white thing with an emotionless frown. He picks up the note as Mira leaves to attend to her other guests.

Laxus opens the piece of paper up to read: _Question 154: Which one of the Thunder God Tribe annoys Laxus the most and why?_

A small smirk spreads across Laxus' face at the words as his mood shifts to a more pleasant one. He looks toward the bar where Lucy sits to see her looking at him with a strained smile as if she is trying not to laugh. "Hey Mira, give me a pen," he calls over his shoulder as his smirk grows wider.

Mira looks away from her customer to blink at the sudden request. "Sure Laxus," she replies with raised brows as she hands him a pen.

Laxus takes the pen and settles his arms on the table as he thinks over his answer. His team had a variety of personalities with a variety of annoyances so it's actually an especially difficult question to answer.

Mira watches the blonde man curiously as he takes a few moments to think before writing something down on the piece of paper. A chuckle slips past his lips as he writes and she can feel her head tip to the side as her intrigue bounds to new levels.

 _What is so funny?_ she wonders to herself. She tries to peep at the note but Laxus finishes writing by that time and folds the note along the creases.

"Take this back to Lucy," he commands with a shit-eating grin as he holds out the note.

Mira nods with a smile as she takes the paper. She glides back to the bar where Lucy is waiting anxiously and hands her the note. Lucy takes it with a broad smile and quickly opens the note to read,

 _They all annoy me equally but it's always because of what they fight about. Freed and Evergreen argue over what they think to be the best option in any situation, Ever and Bickslow fight because Bickslow knows how to push all of her buttons, and Bickslow and Freed argue because Bickslow won't take anything Freed says seriously. Then when all three of them argue everything they do is annoying. Freed is presumptuous, Bickslow is a jokester, and Ever likes to have the last word. I won't be surprised if they kill each other one day._

Lucy bursts out laughing. She was betting on Ever to be honest but this is a much better answer.

"What's going on?" Mira asks Lucy curiously as she leans on the bar.

Lucy tampers down her laughter to look at the other woman with mirth dancing in her eyes. "Oh nothing, just an inside joke," she replies with a giggle.

Mira nearly does a face flop. "You mean you're not going to tell me?!" she complains with wide eyes.

"Well no. It wouldn't be an inside joke then," Lucy replies with a big smile as she begins to remember the rest of her and Laxus' game and she can feel laughter rising in her throat once more.

Mira pouts as Lucy goes into another laughing fit. The barmaid looks over at Laxus to see him lightly chuckling as he watches her and Lucy. Her head tilts off to the side as she looks between the two blondes. _Lucy and Laxus have an inside joke? What is going on between those two? Maybe there really is something between them… I'll have to find out…_ she devises as her eyes glisten with a matchmaking shine.

The guild doors open quietly to reveal a man in a dark suit and a fedora. He removes his hat as he walks up to the bar next to the laughing Lucy and plotting Mira.

"Pardon me?" he asks with a polite formal tone.

Laxus shifts his eyes at the sound of the new voice and his mood drops into one more serious.

Both women give the newcomer their full attention and smiles.

"Hello, what can I do for you?" Mira asks kindly.

The man pulls open the left side of his jacket to revel a shiny police badge. "I'm Detective William Murdoch and I am here to speak with a Mr. Laxus Dreyar and Ms. Lucy Heartfilia."

Lucy and Mira perk up at the detective's introduction while Laxus huffs through his nose before chugging the rest of his beer. So the guy's finally here, huh? Took 'em long enough.

Lucy raises her hand enough to get the detective's attention, "I'm Lucy Heartfilia…"

"What's this about?" a gruff voice sounds from the stairs. The old master steps onto the ground floor before hopping onto the bar in front of the detective.

The detective slightly smiles at the man and gives a curt bow. "It's a pleasure to meet you in person Mr. Dreyar. Thank you for your cooperation."

"Of course, anything to help a detective. Although I would like to know more about the reason for your visit. You were vague during our conversation on the communication lacrima," Makarov replies as he closes his eyes.

By this time everyone in the guild is paying close attention to the conversation at the bar. Laxus stands up from his table and makes his way to stand behind Lucy.

"Of course, my apologies," Detective Murdoch says with a small nod. "I need to ask your members some questions about a Mr. Jay Nagla. I'm doing an investigation into Mr. Nagla's history and I learned that Ms. Heartfilia and Mr. Dreyar are the ones that turned him into the authorities. I'm hoping to be able to ask them some questions on what happened the day they were attacked," Detective Murdoch says politely and respectfully as he looks between the three.

Master looks at Lucy and Laxus for any indication with that they might have any issues with answering some questions. Seeing none, he looks back at the detective, "They'll be happy to help. You may use my office."

"Thank you," the detective nods in thanks toward the small man. He turns toward Lucy and Laxus and steps aside to allow them to lead. "Shall we?" he asks as he holds out his hand.

Laxus scowls as he leads the detective to his grandfather's office on the second floor with Lucy following him. He can hear his gramps command everyone to go back to their business as he clicks the door shut. He sits in one chair in front of the master's desk and crosses his arms while Lucy sits in the other with her hands in her lap. Detective Murdoch stands in front of both of them with his hands behind his back.

"Please tell me about your interaction with Mr. Nagla," Detective Murdoch asks politely but firmly.

Lucy begins to recount everything that happened before, during, and after they were attacked, starting with how they were in Koda on a job for Mr. Tweed.

"Then Laxus turned him over to the police. That was the last we ever saw of him," Lucy finishes.

"I see," the detective says as he nods his head in thought. He looks at Laxus and asks, "And you had absolutely no issue with defending yourself or Ms. Heartfilia against Mr. Nagla?"

"Yep," Laxus says gruffly. Although that is a bit of an understatement if the lightning slayer is being honest.

"Understood."

"Sorry we don't have very much to offer you." Lucy apologizes.

"Actually you have been very helpful. May I be frank with the both of you?"

"Of course."

"Jay Nagla has escaped from police custody but we have a general approximation on his location. I have a theory that he might be looking for you Miss Heartfilia."

Lucy's eyes go wide in shock. "Me!? Why would he come after me? I would think that he would go after Mr. Tweed."

"I believe that Mr. Tweed is his second target. You are the main victim and one of his arrestors at the time of the incident. Since he attacked you instead of Mr. Dreyar, he may have psychologically associated you with the cause of his anger and that is what drove him to attempt to assault you. In that regard, he may be looking for you to finish what he began before moving on to Mr. Tweed. It is only a theory at this point but my associates and I do not want to take any chances. Which is why I must insist that you be accompanied at all times until he has been brought back to justice. Since you Mr. Dreyar so easily defeated Jay Nagla before, I would like to have your assistance in apprehending our escapee."

"Just me?" Laxus asks.

"Indeed. I don't believe Mr. Nagla will spend his time trying to come up with a plan to hurt you. As for the search, you may bring a small team with you if you would prefer. As long Ms. Heartfilia stays away from our investigation."

"Why can't I go!?" Lucy asks as if she just got insulted which in her mind she was.

"It would be for your protection. I don't want him to become crazed if he were to see you and become more dangerous toward everyone around him," Murdoch says straight-faced.

Lucy opens her mouth to object but Laxus tells her not to argue. After a heated discussion—mainly due to Lucy yelling about how she is being unfairly excluded—Laxus convinces her that he will take the Thunder Legion and find Nagla before he can hurt anyone. With a final huff, Lucy crosses her arms and agrees to not interfere with him or Detective Murdoch.

"We leave tomorrow in the morning," the detective states as he hands Laxus a business card. "The hotel name is on the back. Please be there at eight o'clock with everyone who will be accompanying us."

"Fine," Laxus gruffly grunts as he stands up. Lucy quickly joins him as the detective gives both blondes an appreciative nod.

The trio makes their way downstairs before Detective Murdoch bids everyone farewell. The Thunder Legion has stopped arguing and approaches the bar as the detective lays his fedora onto his head and exits the building.

"What was that about?" Master asks once the guild door fully closes.

Lucy tells the Master about the meeting with the detective once she takes a seat at the bar while Laxus and the Thunder God Tribe listen onwards.

"Very well. The four of you will leave with Detective Murdoch first thing tomorrow morning while Lucy will stay away from the investigation. You can still leave town but you cannot help Laxus, Freed, Bickslow, and Evergreen."

Lucy frowns in annoyance but remains silent. She already promised that she would stay out of everyone's way but that doesn't mean she has to like it.

"We should return to our homes and pack our belongings if we must set out in the morning," Freed concludes formally.

"Yeah," Laxus agrees with a slight drawl.

The Thunder God Tribe agrees silently and they turn to leave the guild to return to their homes. The old man then leaves the two blondes alone to join Macao and Wakaba for a round of beers across the guild.

Laxus quietly tells Lucy that he is going to go pack his things before she comes over tonight. She nods her head and replies that she'll go pick up whatever ingredients she is missing for his dinner. He hums at her in appreciation before turning to leave the guild.

As soon as Laxus' fur trimmed coat disappears out the door Lucy plops down on a barstool. A deep groan passes Lucy's lips as she cradles her face in her hands.

"You okay Lucy?" Mira's sweet voice rings out in front of her.

"Yeah," she sighs heavily. "I guess so." As okay as anyone else who is purposefully being left out of a mission.

Mira gives her a concerned look before sashaying off to tend to her customers.

The doors to the guild hall abruptly fling open so hard that the doors become slightly embedded into the walls. All eyes turn sharply toward the now open space to see Erza standing with her arms outstretched in front of her. A tight grin and shining wide eyes pronounce the aura of excitement that seems to permeate in in the air around the red head.

Everyone leans back in caution as sweat begins to trickle down their brow. Something has caught the sword mage's attention and they are afraid of whatever atrocity that may be.

As quick as a Jet on adrenaline, Erza slides over to Lucy and tightly grasps her shoulders to make squarely face her with their noses almost touching. Up close, Lucy can now see overzealous enthusiasm flashing in her eyes along with the extreme excitement. Lucy squeaks in mild fear and her sweating starts coming down in thick waves. The last time Erza was this excited about something, an entire bakery was cleaned out in an hour. In other words, whatever it is—it will not be good.

"Lucy…" Erza says eerily calm even though her armored hands shake to betray her excitement.

Lucy gulps nervously as she tries to in vain to lean further away from the red head. "Y-y-yes Erza?" she stammers fearfully.

"I…have found…the perfect thing for us," her eyes flash brightly as her grin turns into a wide smile.

"H-huh? Wh-what are you talking about?"

"Look!" Erza yips as she thrusts a piece of paper in between their faces.

Lucy is forced backwards from the sudden appearance of the piece of paper and almost topples awkwardly onto the floor. She quickly catches the edge of the bar though and straightens herself out. With trembling hands she ever so gently takes the notice from Erza to read it.

Erza snaps her eyes from her teammate to the flyer as her excitement almost bubbles over. It's a fantastic opportunity and she will not take no for an answer. She can't wait to tell everyone else!

Lucy takes her time as she reads over the paper. She doesn't really understand what has Erza so excited—until she gets to the schedule of events at the bottom. Her eyes bulge out of their sockets and her soul drowns in horror as she thinks…

… _Oh…dear…gods…_

* * *

"Thank you for your assistance. This investigation was much made simpler with your help," Detective Murdoch thanks the Fairy Tail mages outside of the mansion.

"It was not a problem," Freed replies stoically. "Even under these morbid circumstances, we are glad that the case has been resolved."

The detective nods in agreement. He bids them another thank you and a farewell to which Bickslow and Evergreen return on Fairy Tail's behalf. They leave the mansion and begin their trek through town toward the train station. The early morning sun has begun to warm up the atmosphere to create a comfortable temperature for the Fairy Tail mages.

"Well I'm glad that's over," Bickslow sighs in relief.

"Yes," Freed agrees, "so am I. We can return to the guild and report to the Master that the danger has passed. I'm sure that Lucy will be thrilled as well."

Laxus closes his eyes and wills himself not to snap at Freed for mentioning the blonde woman.

This job has been the first time in a little over two weeks that he hasn't seen her every day and for some reason all he has been able to think about is her. Her cooking, her laugh, her brown eyes, her smile…it's like she's hijacked every fucking thought that runs through his mind. Although he's not angry or upset about those feelings; instead he feels serenely happy when he thinks of her and he gets lost in the memory of their music listening or their movie watching or their dinners or their jobs. A small part of him can't wait to see her again.

Then Freed, Bickslow, and Ever butt in and jumble up all of his emotions.

Those three make every kind of insinuation of them at every possible allowable moment. Whether its perverted jokes from Bickslow, date suggestions from Ever, or topics of conversation from Freed, he's sick of hearing it. Him and Lucy are just good friends. It makes him tensed and stressed every time they bring up the topic of his relationship with the blonde woman. Although he honestly has no clue why. He just knows that he doesn't like feeling that way so he hates it when they talk about her.

"I don't think thrilled is the right word Freed," Evergreen replies flatly with a deadpan. "She's probably going to feel bad for the guy."

Laxus hums in agreement with his female teammate. Despite how they have spent a relatively little amount of time together, he knows that his fellow blonde has a huge, sympathetic heart. Once she learns the history of their former attacker then she will probably pity the poor guy. None of which the stupid bastard actually deserves.

"That is probable," Freed reluctantly agrees with a frown.

"Well she shouldn't! The guy is gone and we all deserve to celebrate," Bickslow insists.

Evergreen cocks an eyebrow at the man before rolling her eyes. "Oh please, your version of a celebration is just eating more of her cooking," Ever retorts haughtily as she crosses her arms.

"Well yeah!" he grins in excitement as he remembers her tasty food. "Maybe once we tell her the news she'll cook us a nice hot dinner tonight as a reward. I could really go for some pork chops and potat-"

"She can't," Laxus stops Bickslow before he can finish his sentence.

"What do you mean?" Freed asks curiously.

Laxus looks over his shoulder to see Freed and Evergreen's curious face and Bickslow's disappointed one. A groan bubbles in his chest as he turns back around and sighs, "She went with her team to some town for some festival. They won't be back in Magnolia for almost two weeks."

Laxus clearly remembers the conversation he had with the celestial mage the last time he saw her. They were having his second dinner for the second time—because her team ate everything the first time around—when she told him that she was heading out with Team Natsu for two and a half weeks. When he asked for details of what she'll be doing exactly, all she said was that she'll be safe but worried if watching the movies were anything to go by. The whole conversation left him blatantly confused but he refused to press the subject because she seemed to gain a look of exaggerated horror when she talked about it.

"What town?" Ever speaks up.

"Some town named Harwick."

"Then we should go visit her!" Bickslow jeers happily as his tongue spills out of his face.

Laxus stops so suddenly in his tracks that all three members of the Thunder Legion run into his broad back like falling dominos.

"Why?" he asks suspiciously as he turns on his three compacted teammates.

"We can't just let her wonder how our mission went until she gets back to the guild," Bickslow says to quickly cover his ass. "The whole point of us helping the detective was so she could be safe. It would be a total jerk move to just leave her hanging for a week."

"I agree with Bickslow," Ever nods.

"As do I," Freed approves.

Laxus looks between each one of them questionably before grunting in resignation. He knows deep down that they have the ulterior motive of getting him and Lucy together but he doesn't really want to argue with them right now. In all honesty, he actually wants to see her before she returns back to Magnolia. Just to check up on her, of course. He has even thought up several good questions for their game and wants to share them with her before he forgets. So what's the point of fighting the Thunder Legion if he agrees with them?

Without a word, Laxus turns back to head toward the train station. The Thunder Legion exchanges proud knowing smirks as they jog to catch up to their leader.

Bickslow, Freed, and Evergreen have been trying to subtly suggest to Laxus their idea of him and Lucy hooking up during the entire duration of their job. Key word being _subtly_. They want their boss to realize that he might be in denial without outwardly saying as much. Otherwise he could totally rebel against the idea and stop seeing Lucy all together just to prove a point; which is the exact opposite of what they want to happen.

The night that them and Team Natsu destroyed Laxus' house, they discussed how they should repair his home. But periodically between their debates over colors and types of fabric the subject of Lucy would arise. They discovered that they are all fond of the celestial mage and that they think she would be a good match for Laxus. Lucy is a really nice woman and a smart one to boot. Sure she can be emotional and a bit crazy at times but she is also reasonable and independent. Far more so than almost anyone else in the guild. It would be good for Laxus to experience someone with a different approach to life. It might even allow him to open up even more than he already has.

If Lucy and Laxus started dating, they honestly believe that they would be happy together. They would be like yin and yang: two opposing sides that complement each other.

So to hear no argument from the man on visiting the busty blonde, they can't help to have a ray of hope that all of their prodding is starting to wear down his denial, even if it is just a little.

They hop on the first train to the closest town to Harwick. No train runs directly through the small town but it's only a thirty minute walk to the town that does have a train.

Once they board the train, they get some sleep so they'll be well rested once they reach their destination.

* * *

 _The Town of Harwick,_ a sign reads as the Thunder God Tribe and Laxus pass it. It's mid-afternoon by the time the four mages arrive in the small town.

"Are you sure this is where Lucy said she was going?" Ever asks while looking around.

There is practically nothing that makes the town special. All it seems to be is a small village that is surrounded by a lush forest. No glitter, no glamor. Just a plain, old boring village.

"Doesn't look like much of a festival to me," Bickslow says skeptically. There are no banners or flags or signs that suggests a festival is going on. People are working in their regular shops and doing regular things.

"Perhaps it is outside the village," Freed suggests to his comrades.

"Let's ask someone," Ever replies as she looks around for a townsperson. "Excuse me?" she calls to a passing woman.

The woman stops and looks at Evergreen questioningly. "Yes?"

"We heard that there is a festival going on around here. Do you know where it is?"

"Sure. It's in the forest on the edge of town. Just follow the main road until you see a small dirt road once you pass the last building. It should lead you into the forest and right to where you want to go."

"Thank you ma'am," Freed nods his head in thanks.

Laxus, Freed, Bickslow, and Evergreen follow the townswoman's directions. Just as they were told, there is the beginning of a small dirt path that leads into the forest at the edge of the village. They walk along the path and among the trees for half an hour before they reach a makeshift sign that has three directions written on arrows pointing to the left, right and straight ahead. Which would make sense if the left and right arrows lead to a road instead of only pointing towards the forest.

The arrow that points straight says that it leads to Solaris, to the right is toward the Wolfden Camp and to the left is the Damarel Camp.

Whatever the hell that means.

All four members stare at the sign dumbly as they try to decipher it. Freed suggests that they continue along the road and see where that brings them. The other three mages agree and proceed to make their way to the place named Solaris.

Thirty minutes later, Laxus and the Thunder Legion arrive at a small field that has multiple purple tents around the dirt area. The largest and most elegant tent sits in the center where it seems most of the people are gathered. Evergreen says that maybe they should walk around and see if they can find Lucy.

They walk down what they think is the main road and pass several different types of tents along the way. One looks to be some sort of housing unit, another is some kind of shop, and there is even some kind of blacksmith that is "sharpening" a sword made out of styrofoam.

The Thunder Legion looks around in confusion as they take in the sights. The people themselves make them grow even more confused because each one of them is dressed in very old timey medieval-like purple garments and armors and actually look like they live in this little area. It makes the Fairy Tail mages—except for Bickslow—pop out like giant sore thumbs and easily garner the attention of the "citizens" of the area.

"What's going on?" Bickslow asks his teammates in hushed voice as to not attract any more attention.

"I have no idea," Freed replies honestly and just as quietly.

"It looks like everyone just came out of a medieval movie," Ever adds.

Laxus scowls and tsks in irritation. The hell kind of festival is this? All he wants to do is find Lucy, not get lost in a crowd of medieval knight wannabes.

As they near the largest tent, a familiar voice calls out, "Laxus! Freed! Bickslow! Evergreen!"

Smiles mixed with bafflement spread over the Thunder Legion's faces while Laxus keeps his neutral frown when they see the little girl running up to them.

"Hey Wendy," Evergreen greets her when she stops at their feet. Carla is not far behind her as she flies up next to her dragon slayer.

"What are you doing here?" Wendy asks excitedly as she folds her hands in front of her dress. She is wearing a green ankle length straight dress that has long sleeves and a small belt around her waist. Carla is wearing a very similar dress except that it's pink and white.

"We're looking for Lucy; we wanted to tell her how our mission went. Do you know where she is?" Freed asks politely.

Wendy gives them a strong nod before motioning for them to follow her through the thick crowd gathered in front of the big tent. Two guards in purple stand outside of the tent flap and protect it with their fake styrofoam spears. Laxus has to resist sighing at how idiotic they look.

In fact, he has to resist sighing at how everyone looks like a total idiot.

Everyone comes to a halt as they enter the tent and look around. There are two long tables on the opposing sides of the room with a bed along the back side. A throne sits in the middle of the room with multiple chairs surrounding it and a small stool directly next to it. A flap of fabric is draped off to the side to hide whatever is behind it.

The Thunder Legion looks around the tent in utter confusion. What in the hell…?

"Wendy, where is my—everyone!" Lucy exclaims happily as she walks out from behind the drape to come into the main area of the tent.

She is wearing a deep purple off-the-shoulder fitted straight dress with long sleeves and golden designs sewn into the skirt. The perfect hourglass figure of hers is heavily complimented with a tight corset that squeezes her ample breasts enticingly up and out. Her hair is twisted into a loose bun at the base of her head with several loose flaxen strands framing her angelic face.

Laxus becomes rooted in his spot when he lays his eyes on her. His heart begins to pound out of his chest while his thoughts slow down to focus solely on the sight in front of him.

Gods she looks absolutely beautiful. Unspeakably so.

She looks like a regal medieval princess. Not only is she wearing his second favorite color but the way it hugs her body is unbelievably flattering. Then she has her typical beautiful smile and big brown eyes the shine with happiness as she looks at him. She is absolutely mesmerizing and he can't take his eyes off of her.

"When did you guys get here?" she asks with a wide smile spread across her lips.

"Just now," Ever replies with a smile of her own. "We came here to tell you about our job with the Detective.

"Oh," Lucy's eyes light up, "sure thing! Let me make some tea first," she adds hastily as she gestures for them to sit in the chairs facing the throne. She walks over to one of the tables and puts a kettle on a heating lacrima.

"Is this place yours?" Bickslow asks curiously as he leans back in his chair and looks around. He sits on the end of the row with Freed beside him. Evergreen sits on Freed's other side and Laxus is on the other end of the line of chairs. Wendy takes a seat on the small stool next to the throne while Carla sits on the armrest of the throne.

A heavy sighs drips Lucy's lips as her shoulders slump in exertion. "Yeah," she drawls out with a frown.

Evergreen notices how Laxus' eyes are planted on Lucy and how he is watching her every move in a silent awe. Her eyes narrow behind her glasses in certainty before she subtly and quietly jabs him in the side with her finger. Laxus breaks out of his stupor to scowl down at the woman but tenses up when he see her lecherous smirk. Realization that she caught him ogling Lucy makes him turn pointedly away with a hushed awkward cough to focus on the air in front of him.

"I do not mean to pry Lucy but what exactly is happening here? This doesn't seem to be much of a festival," Freed asks politely and straight forward.

"Oh but it is," Lucy moans begrudgingly.

Bickslow and Freed exchange looks of confusion with hums. Laxus internally shakes himself out of his embarrassment to focus on the conversation with his typical indifferent mask.

The kettle whistles to signal the boiling water inside. Lucy quickly takes it off of the heating lacrima and pours the hot water into five teacups: one for Ever, Freed, Wendy, Carla, and herself.

"There's a special festival going on for the next two weeks and this is part of it," Lucy says dryly as she hands Freed his tea. "We originally came for the first part but now it seems that Erza wants to stay for the remaining parts as well," she finishes as she takes a seat on her makeshift throne. She blows on her tea to marginally cool it down before taking a sip.

"What makes it so special?" Freed asks Lucy as he sips at his own tea. Bickslow rolls out his tongue in agreement while Evergreen lays her tea on her lap.

Lucy sighs as she sits back in her throne and rubs one of her temples. _Oh where to begin, where to begin…_ "Have you guys ever heard of LARPing?" she asks with a tired expression.

The Thunder Legion and Laxus look between one another in confusion.

"No, what's that?" Bickslow asks.

"It stands for Live Action Roll Playing," Lucy explains with another sigh. She seems to be doing a lot of that lately.

"An acronym," Freed says to no one in particular.

"It is also known as Erza's new favorite hobby," she continues. "The whole premise of LARPing is that people who follow a certain story dress up as some kind of character from that story and act out made up scenes."

Laxus and the Thunder Legion hum in contemplation as they try to picture what Lucy is telling them. Lucy looks up to see Laxus' neutral expression, Freed's thoughtful one, Bickslow's confused face, and Evergreen's annoyed pout. She sighs once more while Wendy giggles.

"Remember those costumes that Erza got after she watched the Alien movies?" she pauses as she waits for confirmation from her friends. They give her unsure nods as they wonder where she is going with this. "We originally came here because other fans of the series wanted to act out some scenes from the movies and Erza wanted to include all of us as well. So we got dressed up as different marines, scientists, or androids and tried to 'fight off the Xenomorphs', who were just other people dressed as the aliens."

"Seriously?" Bickslow asks with a mixture of skepticism and disbelief. "So all you guys did was pretended that you were shooting the aliens and pretended to die if they got you and all that stuff?"

"Yep," Lucy pops her lips at the end. "Pretty much."

"Then what's with all of this?" Laxus asks as he gestures with his head around the tent. She still hasn't explained why she is dressed up as a princess.

Lucy's jaw clenches and her body stiffens at Laxus' question. She tries her damnedest to not show how annoyed she is with her situation but her eyes give it away. "Do you want the long or short version?" she asks as she pulls her lips to one side of her face in a miffed pout. She hopes that they will pick the long story due to her wanting to rant about how absolutely ridiculous all of this is.

"Long?" Evergreen answers hesitantly.

Lucy crosses her arms as she decides on where to begin. "The original plan was to come for the Alien LARPing and then leave," she states with an underlying tone of agitation, "but nothing ever goes as planned. Erza, Gray, Natsu, Damus, and I were all marines while Wendy, Carla, and Happy were androids that worked in the medical unit. The first time that we fought the Xenomorphs, Erza got a little too passionate and ended up hurting the woman who was pretending to be the Queen the first day. Since she was the only one that agreed on being the queen, the Alien section was going to be cancelled. Erza—being Erza—stepped in and declared that she will be the Queen in the woman's place since she is the one who harmed her in the first place. The next day, Erza took on her role as the Queen of the Xenomorphs while we were all humans or androids. Let's just say that Erza took her role very seriously," she deadpans as a shiver runs up her spine at the memory. "It was a total bloodbath on our side."

Wendy, who has been listening quietly, began to grow big exaggerated tears in her eyes as she turns away ashamed. "I-it was t-too much, we were overwhelmed," she stutters through a comical cracked voice and wide eyes.

Even Carla is shaking her head at the not-supposed-to-be-traumatic-but-Erza-made-it-traumatic memory.

Bickslow, Freed, and Evergreen look onwards at the three females with shocked and slightly overwhelmed expressions etched into the features while and Laxus is looking completely lost in the conversation.

"Anyway…" Lucy shakes herself out of her thoughts. "After that horrible experience, a guy who is a general in the next section of the LARPing festival approached Erza and asked her if she would join with his side and fight for the right of Vizema. Of course, Erza couldn't turn that down now could she?" Lucy sighs in exasperation.

The Thunder Legion gives her confused looks. "Vizema?" they ask in unison.

"Yeah…there is a story called Witcher that this section is based on. The details are not that important but basically the whole plot is during the medieval period and is located in the fictional country of Vizema. The king of the country passes away and the crown is to be passed to one of his two sons: Lambert or Eskel. Both of them claim that they should be the king and they become rivals over it. One side of the country supports the first son while the other supports the second son. Eventually a civil war breaks out between the two factions with one son leading each side: Lambert leads the Unifell army and Eskel leads the Rodanian army. There is a princess that manages the country in the king's stead—that is my part" Lucy adds as she points to herself.

The Thunder Legion nods their head in order to say that they are following so far.

"So almost everyone became enlisted in the Unifell army. Erza is a general, Natsu and Gray become a part of the infantry, and Damus is a range specialist. They got to select their own names and were actively participating in the 'war'."

"What about you, Wendy, and Carla?" Bickslow interjects, being genuinely curious about this whole thing. It sounds like a good fun time to be honest.

Lucy frowns and huffs in irritation while Wendy nervously laughs. "Apparently once people learned that there is an actually healer in the festival they tended to take their pretending to a much more serious level. Wendy was banned from actively participating in any battles once she had to heal a guy that had his arm broken by another guy. 'Just getting into my role', he said," she sneered in a mocking voice.

"I have never seen bigger morons in my life," Carla declares with her tiny nose in the air.

The Thunder Legion sweatdrop while Laxus grunts.

"As it turns out, there wasn't a woman to be the princess for the Witcher section so Erza volunteered me for the position. I was then inducted into the position of Princess Yennefer and Wendy and Carla became my loyal maids: Triss and Merigold. All of that happened two days ago. This section will last for three more days before the next part of the festival begins," she sighs once more as she finishes her story.

"Well this sucks," Bickslow sulks with a frown. "Can't call you Cheerleader while you're a princess." His face lights up and tongue falls out as an idea strikes him. "I know! I'll call you Cosplayer since you're doing so much cosplaying!" he cackles gleefully.

"Cosplayer, cosplayer!" his babies chirp as they bob up and down beside his head.

Lucy's eye twitches in anger and a tick forms on her brow. "First of all, this is not _cosplaying_ …it's _role-playing_. There's a difference, or so I've heard. And two, that is a stupid nickname!" her voice rising in her anger.

"Cosplayer! Cosplayer!" Bickslow chants in a humorous sing-song voice.

Evergreen effortlessly wipes out her fan in one smooth movement and plants its side on Bickslow's lips. Her arm slams into Freed's face since she has to reach across him to hit the seith mage. The green-haired man yelps in both pain and surprise as his chair tips backward to land on the floor with a clunk while Bickslow grunts in pain and reaches up to clasp his hands over his mouth. Ever haughtily sheathes her fan and gives Bickslow an annoyed glare. Bickslow returns the favor though as he mumbles some cruel insults through the flesh of his hand.

A murderous shadow makes its way over Evergreen's eyes as a tick forms on her brow. "What did you say!?" she shrieks indignantly as she turns to face her soul-controlling teammate.

"I said that I hope your pantyhose always rip at the seam and that your hair lies flat!" he smirks cockily as he leans forward to close the distance between their faces.

"Well I hope that your babies get eaten by termites!" she yells as her eyes blaze with fury and knocks him over the head. Bickslow tumbles off to the side but manages to catch her wrist on the way down. Ever squeals in surprise as she is tugged down by the Bickslow's weight.

"That was completely unnecess—ary!" Freed's voice rises two octaves as his arguing teammates topple on top of him. Ever straddles Bickslow's butt and yanks on his helmet to bend him backwards into a crescent shape. Bickslow facepalms Freed with a grunt as he quickly spins around to pulls Ever's arm behind her back. All the while shouting pathetic and comedic insults at one another.

Laxus remains in his seat with a bored look while his team brawls behind him. Lucy, Wendy, and Carla gape in exaggerated shock and sweatdrop at the scene.

"Besides the acting, how are you guys doing?" he asks nonchalantly, as if his team isn't at each other's throats.

The two ladies and female cat give the blonde man their fully attention while Freed screeches from having his hair pulled.

"Exhausted but otherwise fine," Lucy answers with a huff. "These people never stop acting for a single moment and it really grates our nerves sometimes. We get disturbed at all hours of the night due to us," she does air quotations with her fingers," 'having to perform our royal duties'."

"Then why don't you leave?" Laxus asks as the word bitch sounds through the tent. He's not sure if it was Bickslow or Ever who said it though.

Another thick sigh passes Lucy's lips. "Everyone is having such fun that I don't want to ruin it for them. It's only for another three days anyway so it can't be that bad."

Laxus scowls and growls lowly. Fuck that. If she doesn't want to be here then she shouldn't have to be here. Easy as that. She shouldn't feel obligated into making everyone else happy. Screw how everyone else feels for all he cares.

He opens his mouth to rebuff her statement and to knock some sense into her but one of Evergreen's heels fly through the air and slams into the back of his head. Irritation shapes his face and he looks over his shoulder to bark, "Would you three shut the fuck up!?"

The Thunder God Tribe freezes and looks up at their leader with wide eyes. Ever has Freed in a choke hold with his face firmly placed between her breasts with one arm while her other hand is pulling on Bickslow's weird purple helmet pony tail thing. Bickslow has his foot planted on one of Ever's hip and the other pushing down into Freed's back.

With groans and awkward apologies, they quickly untangle themselves and realign their chairs. They give each other annoyed glares as they take their respective seats before their abrupt argument.

"So where are Erza and everyone else now?" Evergreen asks with a miffed frown while rubbing a growing bruise on her cheek.

Sweat beads down Lucy's temple as she gives her a wry smile. Her guildmates are absolutely crazy.

"Probably planning some kind of attack or something. I'll send for them. Emhyr!" she yells.

A scrawny man clad in purple immediately enters the tent and stands at attention. "Yes your highness?"

"Please send word to the group that I arrived with in the Damarel Camp that I wish to see them. Tell them that it is urgent."

"Yes ma'am right away," he bows curtly before leaving promptly.

Bickslow lets out a low whistle and Laxus grunts in annoyance. "Man you got these people wrapped around your finger, don't you Cosplayer?" Bickslow jests merrily as his tongue drapes out again.

Lucy deadpans and frowns at the gleeful mage. "He just thinks that I'm telling him to do that as the princess. I'm pretty sure he would be a lot less enthusiastic if I was just Lucy. And quit calling me Cosplayer!"

Bickslow holds up his hands in mock surrender. He still plans on calling Lucy his new nickname for her.

"How did your job go? Did you find Mr. Nagla? Is he back in custody?" Lucy asks expectantly. These questions have been burning at the back of her mind since her friends arrived in her tent.

Laxus scoffs while his team shakes their heads.

"We found him but he's not in custody," Freed replies cryptically.

Wendy's eyes widen in worry. "So he's still on the loose?"

"Not quite," Ever hisses with a one sided frown.

Wendy and Lucy look at one another in confusion before they turn back toward their guildmates.

"Nagla's dead," Laxus clarifies in a gruff tone.

Three gasps are heard from the ladies and cat in dresses.

"D-dead? How? When?" Lucy whispers as she lays her hand on her chest in concern.

"Suicide about two days ago," Bickslow answers in an oddly serious tone. "More specifically, he stabbed himself in the heart with a knife in the attic of his old mansion."

Another round of gasps but louder than last time.

"We're the ones who found his body," Freed intervenes. "A letter was left nearby detailing his life, depression, and failed attempt at killing Mr. Tweed. After we reported it to the detective he said that he would take care of everything."

"Apparently the bastard used to be wealthy," Laxus cuts in in an empathetic tone, "but he got too comfortable with his lifestyle. He spent more money than he made—mainly on woman and alcohol—and before he knew it he couldn't afford the mansion he was living in and all of his belongings. Out of desperation he went to Tweed for a loan. They made a deal saying that Tweed would give Nagla a loan and he was expected to pay it back in full. If he doesn't then Tweed gets the mansion and all of the belongings.

"Well Nagla spent the money but he never managed to make the full total back again. He asked Tweed for an extension but Tweed refused. Just like they agreed, Tweed took everything from Nagla and left the guy on the street. After that, Nagla started hating the guy and plotted to kill him. He lied about having an ever-changing weapon to draw Tweed out but you," he speaks directly to Lucy," and I visited instead."

"After he escaped custody he fell into a depression," Evergreen takes over with an undertone of pain. "The only thing he lived for was killing Tweed but when you and Laxus reported him, he gave up hope in his plan. He went back to his old mansion afterwards, wrote his last letter, and killed himself."

"How horrible," Wendy exclaims softly as her eyes begin to tear up.

Bickslow and Evergreen quickly wave their hands in front of their body in panic. "Please don't cry!"

Lucy leans over and gently hugs Wendy's shoulders. "It's alright Wendy," she speaks softly and comfortably. Evergreen and Bickslow visibly relax back in their seats as Wendy's tears disappear.

"He never tried to look for you Lucy," Freed continues. "The letter was his autobiography and took some time to write. He spent his last week working solely on that so he did not have enough time to do much else."

"As great as it is to know I'm safe, I can't help but feel a little bad for him," Lucy responds as she looks at her comrades.

"Well you shouldn't," Laxus quickly states. "He knew what he was doing and it was his own choice."

"I guess you're right," Lucy sighs sadly.

"Your majesty," the scrawny man from earlier announces his return, "Titania, Frost, Igneos, Flurris, and Mani are waiting outside."

"Show them in," Lucy says calmly. Wendy gives her a small gracious smile before straightening up on her stool. Both ladies begin to look more optimistic about the news.

He curtly bows before leaving. A few seconds later Erza, Gray, Natsu, Happy, and Damus walk into the tent. They are wearing red and gold military uniforms; Erza has on knight armor that is heavily adorned like a general's outfit with a fake sword attached to her left hip, everyone else has varying fabric based uniforms.

In short, they look like they just came out of a medieval play.

"Laxus?" Erza, Gray, and Natsu say surprised. "What are you doing here?"

"Giving Lucy an update on our mission," he replies matter-of-factly.

"Yes," Erza becomes serious, "how was it?"

Freed tells his fellow Fairy Tail members about their investigation. Shock washes over Team Natsu but quickly dissipates in solemn understanding.

"I see," Erza nods, "that is a terrible outcome but at least we know now that Lucy will be safe now."

"Guess that's one way to look at it," Damus says under his breath.

The tent flap snaps open and in marches a raven-haired man dressed in green and black armor with the scrawny man in purple scrambling behind his heels.

"So it is true!" the new man exclaims.

Lucy facepalms and slouches back in her throne. Team Natsu immediately changes their solemn demeanors to deadpans. The Thunder God Tribe look between everyone in confusion while a low growl bubbles in Laxus' chest.

"I'm so sorry your majesty I tried to stop him," Emhyr babbles in apology.

"I heard that you were meeting with the enemy and came to investigate," the man claims angrily as he crosses his arms.

"Daniel it's not what it looks like," Lucy sighs as she shakes her head.

Daniel's stern face drops. "What?"

Lucy sighs heavily and gestures to Laxus and the Thunder God Tribe. "These are Fairy Tail members that have come to see me. I'm not meeting with the enemy," she quips sarcastically.

An embarrassed blush spreads over Daniel's cheeks. "I-I'm sorry. I-I d-didn't know."

"Who's he?" Bickslow interjects as he looks expectantly at Lucy.

Lucy's eyes flick between her friends and the raven-haired man. "This is Daniel. He plays General Radovid in the Rodanian army."

"He's one of our largest opponents," Erza while using her acting voice.

"I thought the Unifell army was attempting to recruit more soldiers so I came to extend the offer of joining the Rodanian Army as well but I see that I misunderstood the situation."

Erza crosses her arms and give Daniel a confident glare. "If they join any army it will be the Unifell Army. It would be the only proper path to take."

"What make the Unifell army better than the Rodanian army?" Freed asks inquisitively. It's not that he disagrees with Erza that Fairy Tail members should stick together but he shouldn't base him entire opinion of a subject on that lone fact either.

Erza's face becomes so serious that the Thunder Legion leans back in their chairs from worry. "The Unifell army fights for justice, order, and peace. None of which the Rodanian army strives to achieve."

Daniel shifts into his character of General Radovid at the insinuation. "Our army fights for the freedom and equality of all races; elves, trolls, goblins, fairies, giants, and all others are all equal! We would rather die than be ruled by that bastard Lambert!"

Erza plucks her fake sword from her hip. "How dare you insult our rightful leader!"

"Guys," Lucy warns, "no fighting in my tent!"

"Did you say fairies?" Ever asks in a creepy calculating voice.

"Yes," General Radovid furrows his eyebrows in thought. "Actually we need the Queen of the Fairies to be more specific."

And that sealed the deal.

A light of pure glee shines in Ever's eyes as she stands up so fast and whips around to fully face Erza that her chair tips over from the sheer force. "Now who is the Queen of the Fairies Titania!?" she challenges Erza haughtily.

A cold shiver runs down Lucy, Wendy, and Carla's spine as a dark shadow moves over Erza's face. "So that's how it's going be? You are going to betray your friends?" she asks darkly.

"I never agreed to be a part of your army," Ever confidently smirks. "I am going to take you down and Freed and Bickslow are going to help me."

"We are?" Bickslow and Freed ask simultaneously.

"They are?" Lucy, Wendy, and Carla ask in perfect sync.

"They are!" Ever claims. She flicks her head around to look at her new "leader" in a dare of challenging her idea. The man shakes his head and tries to look confident but the terrified sweat on his brow is clearly visible.

A mild look of panic makes its way onto Lucy's face. This is getting way too out of hand way too quickly. "Let's not make any rash decisio-"

"I want to be a necromancer!" Bickslow announces excitedly as he stand up from his chair.

"Bickslow!" Lucy chides as she turns to the said man agape.

"I want a cool name like 'Lord Zagrim The Graverobber'," Bickslow says absentmindedly while ignoring the blonde woman's outburst.

"What shall I be?" Freed asks as he looks at General Radovid.

"How about an elf lord?" the man in green suggests.

"An elf!?" Lucy asks with a disturbed look plastered on her face. Laxus blinks in shock as he looks at the general skeptically.

"That would be interesting," Freed replies in consideration. The thought is pleasing to the rune mage. Elves are known to be nimble and durable as well as wise. It would definitely suit him. "I accept," he states clearly with his chin held high.

"Alright!" Bickslow cheers.

"Elf, elf!" the babies chirp.

"Oh no…" Lucy's swears in exaggerated horror.

"In that case," Natsu's loud voice sounds over everyone as he points to Freed, Bickslow, and Evergreen, "we won't be going easy on you! You're our sworn enemies from this point on!"

"Yeah!" Damus agrees.

"You guys don't stand a chance against all of us," Gray adds with a cocky smirk.

"We'll see about that!" Ever declares as she puts her hands on her hips.

"If that's how you feel, why don't we settle this right now?" Erza challenges as she drops into a battle stance with her fake sword at the ready.

Sweat comes down in rivers along Lucy's forehead as she begins to panic. How did this happen!? One moment they were talking about Mr. Nagla then next they have joined in the festival as Team Natsu's sworn enemies and are about to duke it out in the middle of her tent!

"Hold it!" she screams before anyone can make a move. "Everyone calm down! You guys can fight later!

"Her majesty is right," General Radovid announces, "I will prepare you back at the Wolfden camp."

"Wait, what's Laxus going to do?" Freed wonders suddenly as he cups his chin.

Everyone turns to look at the blonde man in consideration.

"Nothing," Laxus states matter-of-factly. No. No way in hell is he getting dragged into this.

"He'll join up with us obviously," Ever says simply.

"Didn't you hear me? I said no," he declares more firmly.

"I know! He can be Geralt!" Wendy's sweet innocent voice rings through the tent.

"W-what!?" Lucy yells as her face turns bright red.

"U-um yes. T-that's a g-great idea," Erza says as her fierce battle-ready mood turns into one more bashful.

"Oh that would be perfect! We can finally have someone to fill that role," Daniel nods his head in acceptance.

Gray, Damus, Natsu, and Happy snicker from the sidelines.

Laxus and The Thunder Legion notice everyone's reactions and they furrow their eyebrows in confusion.

"Who's Geralt?" Ever, Freed, and Bickslow ask simultaneously.

Daniel/General Radovid gestures to Lucy/Princess Yennefer. "Geralt is Princess Yennefer's bodyguard. He's is charged with the duty of protecting and escorting her highness anywhere she goes. He's also the princess' secret lover," he adds as an afterthought.

Laxus' whole body tenses up when hears the last part. The Thunder Legion's jaws drop and they look at one another in shock. That shock quickly dissipates into a knowing innocence as they realize how perfect this situation can be. They were already trying to get Laxus to realize his feelings for Lucy so putting him in a scenario where he has to pretend to be in love with her might convince him of his true emotions.

It's perfect.

"He'll take it," they say in unison without an ounce of uncertainty.

"What!?" Lucy sputters in embarrassment as her hot red blush has yet to cool down even by a margin. "H-he said he d-didn't want to!"

"He can change his mind," Ever says with a smirk.

"Uh…" Laxus grumbles.

"Aww come on boss," Bickslow whines. "It won't be any fun without you."

"You won't have to participate in any battles. You just have to watch over Lucy, I mean Princess Yennefer," Freed corrects himself.

"You'll be by yourself if you don't stay."

"Think about how you'll be helping Cosplayer out."

"Not to mention how we won't be able to complete the festival and everyone's hard work will be ruine-"

"Alright, alright!" Laxus' voice rises to a yell to shut everyone up. He clenches his eyes shut and sighs, "If I do this thing will you guys leave me alone?"

The three nods their heads in agreement. Laxus sighs once more. "Fine, I'll stay."

All of the Fairy Tail members, except Lucy, cheer in success. Lucy is so embarrassed that her blush has spread to her ears and neck but a small smile is evident on her face. She is happy that four of her friends are staying but is too thoroughly embarrassed to really express any other emotion.

And just like that, The Thunder Legion became the arch enemies of Team Natsu in a fictional story where they wage war against other mages and non-mages and fight half-mock battles that only end once the opposing side suffer fake deaths while Lucy is the princess on the sidelines with Laxus as her guard and secret lover, and Wendy and Carla as her hand maidens.

What could possibly go wrong?

 **In case you are wondering, I am aware that Bickslow calls Lucy Cosplayer in the Japanese dub. I merely did a joke in regards to that.**


	20. Chapter 20

**Hiro Mashima owns Fairy Tail and all corresponding characters. I only own the extra characters and plot.**

Everything.

The answer is everything.

The twenty-four hours following Thunder Legion's arrival has been nothing short of a purposeful disaster for Lucy, Laxus. Wendy, and Carla.

First and foremost, Lucy got Laxus his appropriate clothes for his position of Geralt. It required some enlarging and altering but eventually he became dressed in a white button down long sleeved shirt with dark purple bands criss-crossed over his biceps, not-too-tight black pants that are tucked into black boots, and a purple, sleeveless, high-collared overcoat that is fitted over his chest and waist but is looser along his legs with four high slits cut into the fabric so the fabric flows and shows his legs as he walks.

When Lucy first saw him she had to do a double take before looking away to hide her blush. She won't deny it; he is undeniably sexy dressed like that.

But that's beside the point.

The topic is the events following Laxus' arrival with his team.

After Laxus got his clothes, he immediately started his "protection" of her majesty Princess Yennefer, also known as Lucy.

In his role as Geralt, Laxus was asked to use two styrofoam swords as a means of combat but a harsh annoyed glare from the blonde man made everyone allow him to just use his hands instead. He would rather be caught dead than with one of those idiotic fake swords—better yet two.

Lucy kindly asked Laxus to not use any of his magic because he might actually wind up killing some unsuspecting individual if he does. Laxus agreed, albeit with extreme reluctance. It's not going to be his fault though if someone pisses him off enough to make him electrocute them.

The basics of his job is that he has to attend every meeting, council, and meal Princess Yennefer/Lucy attends while looking intimidating enough to scare off anyone who even considers the idea of getting within five feet of her.

So it's a pretty simple job for Laxus.

Or at least it would be if he and Lucy were the only Fairy Tail members that were attending this disaster waiting to happen.

Since Laxus, Lucy, Wendy, and Carla are a part of the "royal" (as Laxus has deemed it) part of the game—he refuses to call it anything else—none of them can leave to go check up on what the others are doing. Something about being "susceptible to kidnapping and held hostage" or "having suspicions risen about spying for the other side" or the fact that it's just not a part of the story.

The princess is a neutral party within the story so Lucy cannot attend any gathering without both of the opposing sides being present. The only way her, Laxus, Wendy, and Carla ever find out anything about their friends is through the messengers that deliver news to Solaris about either camp.

It's fucking annoying as shit to the four mages.

This can only leave them in the position of hoping that their respective teams take it easy and not go overboard with their competitiveness.

That hope lasted for about one hour.

Due to the other members of their guild being present, the morale of all the other non-Fairy Tail partakers participating has subsequently risen to the point of recklessness and stupidity.

It started with two back-to-back raids from the Damarel Camp (also known as Erza's camp). The Wolfden Camp (now known to Lucy as the Thunder Legion's camp) was completely taken by surprise but put up a strong resistance.

Two hours after the battle, the Rodanian Army launched a siege on the Unifell army in retaliation. It ended with the walls of the Damarel Camp being destroyed—which were the sticks that were stuck in ground for the sake of the festival that got utterly annihilated—but the moral of the camp went undiminished.

Both sides switched tactics at this time and began to use strategic guerilla warfare on any enemy convoys or scout parties.

This, of course, turned into a total disaster because none of their friends can restrain themselves.

Hostages and "fatalities" (which were supposed to be everyone merely falling down and playing dead for a few minutes but their teams just had to up the dramatization for the sake of the show and make everyone act like drama queens that just had their pageant crowns stolen away) became a much more prevalent occurrence on both sides. In turn, the armies conducted rescue attempts and revenge based attacks that either failed or succeeded. This only raised the mock hostility—which started to seem very realistic—toward one another.

The forest that stands between the two camps took heavy injury from each skirmish and always resulted in a few trees and the land either being destroyed or severely damaged. By the end of the first night, hardly any trees were left between the two camps.

None of their friends could use the true extent of their abilities lest this entire festival actually turn into a full out war. So to keep things relatively simple, everyone stuck to their roles to the best of their abilities. Laxus, Lucy, Wendy, and Carla were astonished that the two groups could accomplish such a feat but they managed to do so.

Erza with her natural leadership abilities, Natsu, Gray, and Damus with their destructive skills, and Happy with his flight became a strong offense force that barely anyone in the Rodanian Army could contend with. On the downside though, they were heavily restricted by rules due to their selection of the Unifell Army and the fact that Natsu and Gray couldn't stop fighting amongst themselves.

The Thunder Legion, on the other hand, really had no rules to follow. They organized and formed groups at their leisure and performed magic that was not necessary approved of by the rest of society (according to the storyline). This gave them the distinct element of surprise when they faced the Unifell Army. But at the same time they also had to deal with the non-uniformity of their own army and had to be aware of treachery from within.

The war could be won by either side.

None of this actually affected Lucy, Laxus, Wendy, or Carla directly. They were just on the sidelines handling the "political and economic consequences" of the war.

That was until Triss/Wendy got kidnapped by the Rodanian Army.

Lucy guessed that none of the kidnappers knew that Laxus was playing Geralt because who in their right mind would kidnap a little girl under his watchful eye? That or they honestly had no idea that who Laxus truly is and innocently thought he is just a stern looking man that was only playing his part.

No matter the reasons, the group of kidnappers learned the hard way when Laxus found them and "politely talked" to them. The whole encounter involved screaming, pain, a split tree, and several bloody styrofoam swords.

He promptly returned his fellow dragon slayer to Lucy and Carla afterwards and found the two females to be elated when they saw the little girl returned to them safely.

A couple of hours later Wendy/Triss was kidnapped again…

…but by the Unifell Army.

Laxus/Geralt had to go "politely talk" to that group as well. After more screaming and pain, he and Wendy once again returned to the happiness of the blonde woman and the white cat.

Two huge explosions occurred at both camps shortly afterwards. Lucy and company received word that the other Fairy Tail mages finally heard about what transpired and brought about their own justified punishments to the group from their respective camp.

Lucy and Wendy couldn't help but pity those poor people.

After those two incidents, Princess Yennefer increased the amount of guards protecting Triss and Merigold permanently. This situated more guards around the two handmaidens while simultaneously drawing them away from the princess. But that was acceptable in the princess' eyes because she has Geralt and she is confident that no one will get past him.

Hours (and a lot of incoming news of destructive carnage and intense arguments between the two factions) later, the princess was attending a meeting when it was sabotaged and she was kidnapped. The kidnappers were rouges from both sides that planned on exchanging the Princess' life for the right to the crown.

Geralt tracked the kidnappers, beat them to an inch of their lives courtesy of Lucy (otherwise the dragon slayer would have _actually_ killed the poor men), and returned her to her tent before any messengers needed to be sent out to her "brothers" for assistance.

Lucy was restrained to Solaris for her protection after that incident which greatly irritated and displeased the blonde woman. The only time she is allowed to leave is when Laxus is accompanying her.

That night was filled with skirmishes and raids that the "royal" section could hear off in the distance as the four mages tried their best to sleep in the main tent. Neither army willing to relent and surrender so they fought through the night.

It's very easy to say that the Fairy Tail mages became invaluable as well as dangerous assets to have on each side of the battles. Their names have become feared amongst their respective armies.

Lucy is sure that their fake names will go down in LARPing history…or this entire contest will at least.

Everything went silent at daybreak but Lucy, Laxus, Carla, and Wendy all knew that it was the calm before the storm. Both sides preparing for the final battle.

There are two days left of the Witcher section of the LARPing festival and there are major events planned for both days. Later that same day will be the final battle where the two armies will clash and only the victor will remain. Tomorrow will be when the victorious prince is crowned as the King and a huge banquet will be held.

It's mid-morning when Lucy starts getting dressed for the big battle. The princess, her hand maidens, and her bodyguard are all invited to watch the final battle from a prearranged spot. The battle begins at noon and the "royals" do not want to miss it.

Lucy is standing in the middle of her tent in her white knee length sleeveless nightgown while she decides on which dress she wants to wear.

"Someone is going to be cut in half," Lucy sighs in greatly exaggerated exasperation as she holds up the first dress in front of herself while she stands in front of the mirror. "And something else will be burned or frozen and the entire event will be ruined," she switches to the second dress without looking away.

"Maybe they'll take it easy?" Wendy chuckles nervously from her side.

Laxus scoffs from his place in the corner. He has his feet up on the table and is leaning back in his chair with his arms crossed over his chest.

"Please child, no one from our guild knows how to behave themselves," Carla claims from Lucy's other side. "They'll probably destroy the whole forest. Or what's left of it anyway."

Lucy and Wendy expressions melt into one of expected dread. Yeah, that's probably what's going to happen…

The tent flap opens to reveal Emhyr carrying a tray full of breakfast. "Here is your breakfast your majesty," he says happily as he lays the food down on the table beside Laxus. He directs his attention to the others in the room and tells them that he'll bring their breakfasts in shortly in a much less happy tone.

"He really takes his job seriously," Wendy mumbles after the scrawny man leaves the tent.

Laxus growls lowly at Wendy's observation while scowling. To say Laxus does not like Emhyr—or _Niko_ as the slayer has found to be his real name—is a bit of an understatement. The smaller man is nothing but an annoying, irritating, intruding little pest to the bigger male. _Niko_ is never outside of a ten foot range from Lucy and attends to her every need and whim. Laxus swears that if Lucy asked Niko to rub her feet while playing the harmonica, he would get a jet foot bath and play fucking Beethoven.

Laxus can sense the amount of resentment that the smaller man constantly sends his way and has to resist glaring at the little rat. He could rip the guy limb from limb or shock him into an early grave but he can't act on either of those methods because he knows that it'll cause problems for Lucy. No matter how much he wants to, he can't harm Niko—but fuck does he want to.

A ball of burning hatred forms in his chest whenever he sees the other man get too close to his guildmate. Always smiling and making stupid jokes that are not even remotely funny towards her.

Pleasant thoughts of how hilarious it would be to see him try to do those things with a broken jaw filter though his mind at those key moments. And his jaw looks particularly easy to shatter…all nice and boney. It would only take one hard lightning covered punch and the guy would be drinking his dinner through a straw for a few weeks.

Both of those thoughts seem to calm the slayer down until he sees Emhyr again and the ball will return. There have been moments where he tried to figure out why he feels like he does or tried to force himself not to care but found he couldn't do either. It confuses and worries the dragon slayer but he remains stoic in front of his guildmates.

And to only add to the anxiety, his role of Geralt makes things a hell of a lot more confusing.

As he was being fully briefed on his role as Geralt, Laxus learned that he and Princess Yennefer are supposed to run off together so they can be together on the last day of the Witcher section. As her bodyguard, he can never truly be with her because the laws of the Witcher society state that the princess must marry whoever the king permits and Geralt would never be chosen. According to the story, Princess Yennefer came up with the plan of running away a long time ago but has to wait until the war was over because she has to run the country while her brothers are fighting. Once the new King has been chosen, he and Yennefer can finally be together.

Embarrassment consumed him at the thought of asking for Lucy's hand in marriage. The introverted, nervous side of him panicked at the thought of doing something so intimate in front of a horde of people.

Laxus almost quit the festival on the spot…but refrained when he imagined the hell he would get from both of the Fairy Tail teams when they find out that he ditched them after agreeing to stay.

His level of anxiousness rose however as he left the discussion to start his role as Geralt. He was internally sweating and embarrassed at the thought of facing the woman that he is going to be "marrying" but went to Princes Yennefer's tent anyway.

Lucy looked surprised to see him when he entered the tent before turning away. Laxus could swear that he saw Lucy's cheeks turn pink before she looked back at him with a wide smile.

That's when it happened...

All of his apprehension and embarrassment went away and became replaced by feelings of content and happiness as he saw her standing there in that fantastic purple dress with a smile on her face.

It confounded the man. How can he go from being anxious and nervous to calm and happy just from looking at Lucy? Why does she make him feel that way?

Those questions were cut off though when an excruciating headache appeared suddenly. Laxus decided then that he will handle all of his emotional turmoil whenever he is alone and back in Magnolia so he can sort everything out. He still firmly believes that there is nothing between them, that there is some logical explanation to why he feels so relaxed around her. Something in the realm of friends.

"I suppose all we can do now is hope that they don't go overboard," Lucy sighs as she finally decides on the first dress to wear for the day. The dress is the exact dress that she wore when Laxus and the Thunder God Tribe arrived. It also grants easy access to her keys on her thigh should she need them.

Carla shoos Laxus out of the tent while her and Wendy help Lucy change out of her nightgown. The blonde man stands guard as the girls get ready.

Soon enough, Emhyr returns with three trays of food and frowns at the man in front of the tent. He tries his best to ignore the towering man and walk around him but Laxus catches his arm and pushes him backwards with a cold glare.

"Let me pass," Emhyr commands in a pompous voice.

"No," Laxus replies as he remains rooted to his spot, his veins bubbling in irritation at just the mere presence of the smaller man.

"And why not?" Emhyr snides in a snotty voice.

"Because the princess is getting changed and no one is allowed inside until she's ready," Laxus growls icily.

"Really…?" a brief flash of hope and opportunity shines in Niko's eyes as shifts his eyes to the tent flap, temporarily forgetting that he is standing in front of the blonde man.

A sudden urge to throttle the wimpy man crashes down on Laxus like a tidal wave of utter hatred. The dragon part of him demands that he kill the little worm in order to eliminate the competition. A warning growl slips past his lips before he can stop it. His fists clench till the knuckles turn white as he tries to restrain himself enough so that he doesn't actually wind up hurting the man.

Niko remembers where he is and discovers Laxus giving him a death glare. He nervously gulps as he finally understands the amount of danger he accidently put himself in. He's heard of what this man did to those three groups of people! He nearly killed them with his bare hands! And he's not going to be next! No thank you!

Niko puts the trays down and excuses himself with a total of three words and hightails it out of there. He is _not_ going to die today!

Laxus' anger subsides once the pest is out of sight. Realization sets in and embarrassment morphs his face once he calms down.

 _Why the hell am I doing?_ he curses inwardly. _Why_ _do I keep feeling this way?_ _I've never felt like this before so I don't know what the hell to do._ _That little punk is not worth an ounce of my time yet I get so fucking worked up over him. He is just a stupid guy with a stupid hobby with his stupid perverted ideas about Lu…cy…_

The ball of in his chest burns at the thought of the lovely blonde in the arms of the scrawny man.

No.

No way in hell is he ever going to let that happen. He will murder the bitchy punk before the idiot ever gets the fucking chance.

 _Besides it's not like she likes him or anything. He's just some guy that is pretending to take good care of her. Once this is all over she will come back to Magnolia with me and never see him again._

That thought pleases the blonde man and decides to focus on that.

Laxus knows what's going on. He might not be the smartest or most experienced man in the world but he's certainly not the dumbest.

He's jealous.

He's jealous that someone else is taking away Lucy's attention and thus taking away the attention she gives to him. He's jealous that someone else wants to share their hobbies and interests with her while they're alone together. He's jealous that another man thinks about how soft her skin is or how good she smells or how beautiful her smile is.

But that doesn't mean that he will admit it.

He has too much pride for something like that.

That, and if he admits to being jealous of a guy who likes spending time with Lucy then he is basically admitting that he doesn't want _anyone_ spending time with Lucy except for himself. And if he admits to like to spend time alone with Lucy then he is forced to admit that there has to be a reason why he would want to spend time alone with her. He is forced to admit that there is something about her that he admires or likes in a way that he doesn't feel toward anyone else…something not found in the realm of "just friends".

Which he clearly doesn't. They're just…friends…

"Laxus, you can come back in now!" Wendy calls from inside the tent.

Taking a deep breath to steady his jumbled mind, Laxus picks up the tray and carries it inside. He needs to eat something before the big battle and he needs something to take his mind off of his troubles and emotions.

But that damned purple dress of hers does not help.

* * *

"Right this way your majesty," Emhyr gestures with a bow beside a throne.

Princess Yennefer gives him a small smile before taking her place on the throne. Two smaller chairs are placed beside it for Triss and Merigold and the other side is occupied by the standing Geralt.

They sit or stand on a small podium on one side of an open field with a small lake on the side across from them. Directly in front of them are the two opposing armies on either side as they ready themselves for battle. Each side has about a hundred men and women preparing to take their (fake) last breath in the battle of the century. Different blends of red and gold mix on one side while green and black swirl together on the other.

The four Fairy Tail mages look for their friends but can't seem any of them until Laxus chuckles and the girls look at him curiously. He nods to the treetops behind the Rodanian Army and tells them to look for an elf in dark green clothes. They look very carefully and feel their jaws drop when they see Freed amongst the branches with three other people.

"Oh my god," they gasp in unison.

"Let us fight in the name of Prince Lambert," a loud feminine yell reverberates across the field that causes their attention to shift to the Unifell Army.

Horror strikes Lucy, Wendy, Carla, and Laxus scowls when they spot Erza. The red head has, for some reason, found a horse and is riding the thing while galloping back and forth and rallying her troops.

"Oh no," Lucy mumbles in dismay as images of sliced trees and stampeded partakers flash through her mind.

"You should probably prepare yourself Wendy," Carla warns with a sigh, "Erza will probably hurt someone."

"R-right," Wendy stutters with a sweatdrop.

The clock strikes noon and everyone falls into place. A trumpet sounds as a signal for the battle to begin.

Neither side moves initially as they wait to see who will make the first move. With a roar and her fake (hopefully it's fake) sword, Erza charges forward on her horse. The rest of her legion cheers in earnest and charges forward after the general. The Rodanian army roars back and charges forward to meet the Unifell Army in the middle of the field.

The two groups clash in a surprisingly dramatic collision. Styrofoam swords, shields, and spears swing in every direction while battle cries ring through the air. The actual mages participating use lesser versions of their magics and can be seen scattered across the battlefield.

Erza is swinging her sword while riding her horse until a ball of yellow magic bursts from behind her. Her horse bucks her off and runs off as she rolls gracefully to her feet.

Evergreen is laughing a short distance away as she prepares another attack. Erza requips another fake sword —Lucy _really_ does hope that it's fake—as the two women face each other down. Laxus can see that they are saying something to one another but can't hear it due to the amount of noise from the other participants.

At that moment a fireball is launched from the Unifell army toward the middle of the Rodanian army. A green ball of energy meets it halfway causing the two magics to explode over the two mingled armies. Sparkles rain down over everyone as Damus and Bickslow glare at one another. The two men have become the captains of the long range specialists and are thus each other's arch nemesis.

Blasts of fire and ice roll through the crowd as Natsu and Damus finally make their moves. They are careful not to truly hurt anyone but are obviously trying to outdo one another. Each of their attacks is thwarted, however, when Freed uses his "elf agility and arcane magic" to cancel out their attacks.

A part of Laxus pities Freed for having to face both Natsu _and_ Gray at the same time but he hopes Freed will still somehow win.

The battle continues in this manner for an hour. The Unifell army cuts into the ranks of the Rodanian army to decrease their numbers down to nearly half but then the Rodanian army switches tactics.

Now, any time someone "dies" on the Rodanian side, a comrade will haul them away to Bickslow so he can use his "necromancy" to bring them back. The "now living-dead" soldiers hop right back up and continue to fight. This evens out the playing field once more as the two armies continue to go at it.

"I hope this ends by tonight," Carla sighs with a shake of her head. She has noticed that none of their guildmates have gone down and knowing them, they will fight to the bitter end. That is the Fairy Tail way…

"I hope that no one is really hurt," Wendy says absentmindedly in worry.

"Well I hope that Erza doesn't slice someone's head off by accident," Lucy mumbles with a deadpan as she watches Erza hit a Rodanian "zombie" with the blunt part of her sword before effortlessly dodging Evergreen's Fairy Machine Gun spell.

"I hope that nothing catches on fire," Laxus grumbles seriously as his eyes follow yet another fire ball through the sky.

Lucy looks up at him with pleading dread-filled eyes and says, "Please don't jinx it."

A smirk crosses his face as he glances down at her. "No promises," he teases.

Lucy replies with a pout and narrows her eyes in suspicion. "If anything catches on fire I'm blaming you," she threatens playfully.

"You won't have any proof."

"I will find some and claim to be a witness to the whole event."

"You won't be a witness. You'll be my accomplice."

"How is that!?"

"Because you have shitty luck, that's why."

"That's not totally true Laxus. We both have shitty luck and you know it."

Laxus can't help but laugh the amount of truth in that statement and Lucy soon joins him.

Wendy and Carla watch the interaction of the two blondes in curiosity.

"You two get along really well!" Wendy chirps happily.

"How did this happen?" Carla asks with a raised eyebrow.

Lucy and Laxus look over at the girls in surprise. Lucy giggles behind her hand as she remembers some of the stuff they have gone through.

"I guess we do," she realizes happily as she gives the man a warm smile.

Embarrassment and joy fills his heart and makes it flutter when the blonde woman smiles up at him. A smile pulls at the corners of his own lips in response but he quickly turns his face toward the battle to partially hide it.

"I guess it was at some point during our jobs that we found out that we both like certain things and we just became better friends that way."

"What kind of things?" Wendy asks expectantly with wide innocent eyes.

"Well…" Lucy taps her chin in thought. "We both like the same music and we both watched the Alien franchise."

"What kind of music?" Wendy continues in genuine curiosity.

Laxus listens onwards while Lucy enthusiastically tells Wendy all about her and his music experiences. His heart grows to the point of bursting from his rib cage in happiness but he doesn't stop Lucy in her story telling.

From the corner of his eye Laxus can see Niko listening intimately to Lucy speak. The more that she brags about awesome his collection is—something that he whole heartedly agrees with—the more that the small man scowls in irritation. Niko flicks his eyes over toward Laxus to see the proud knowing smirk on Laxus' face.

 _That's right_ , Laxus cheers inwardly to himself. _She's bragging about my stuff and there's nothing you can do about it._

Niko gives Laxus a dirty look, one Laxus returns, before focusing back on Lucy. This annoys the shit out of Laxus and he sends an irritated glare toward the smaller man. All of this is completely missed by the engrossed female that they are silently fighting over.

The fighting continues on for several hours as the "royals" periodically alter their attention from the battle and the conversations amongst themselves. All of the soldiers are far less energetic and enthusiastic than before but push onwards. The sun will be setting in just a couple of hours and Princess Yennefer is seriously considering other means to end the war if it's not over by sundown. The coronation of the new king has to be tomorrow so this has to end by tonight. That, and she really, _really_ wants to get a solid eight hours sleep that has been eluding her due to her "princess duties".

Everything from a one-on-one duel to an arm wrestling contest to a flip of the coin is considered but she can't decide. She brings this topic up to Geralt, Triss, and Merigold to receive their opinions. Geralt chooses a more violent ending while Triss and Merigold vote for something a little more nonaggressive.

Lucy sighs as she considers their opinions and looks back toward the army. Her eyes catch the sigh of a red and orange glow in the forest off to the right and she narrows her eyes to attempt to get a better view.

"The trees are on fire!" Lucy exclaims as she abruptly stands up and points off to the side behind the Rodanian army.

Everyone turns in question and gasps in alarm. Due to their discussions they completely missed the fireball that "accidently" went too far and set the surrounding forest on fire. Nobody from the two armies noticed due to their exhaustion and their focus on the battle.

"We gotta put the fire out!" Lucy orders as she looks around at the royalty section of the festival.

Everyone who isn't a Fairy Tail mage starts running around screaming about getting buckets or salt in a panic. Emhyr tries to direct everyone but only manages to get lost in the small crowd and turns to cower under the podium instead.

The Fairy Tail mages sigh in exasperation at the incompetence of the "subjects". Put these people in real danger and they're completely helpless.

"The fire's growing," Laxus growls as he observes how the glow has spread outwards from moments before. "We need to fix this before it gets out of hand."

"I'm going to go to the lake," Lucy announces to her friends. "I can summon Aquarius and have her put the fire out. Can you guys contain it until I summon her?"

Laxus, Wendy, and Carla nod in agreement before they run off toward the forest. She runs as carefully as she can while she is dressed in her princess gown while avoiding the clashing armies to the lake on the other side of the field. Meanwhile, Carla lifts Wendy into the air so she can use her sky dragon slayer magic to stop the flames from spreading and Laxus pulls any partakers in the festival that have hidden out of the forest to safety.

Finally reaching the lake, Lucy pulls out her most powerful and dangerous spirit.

"Open Gate of the Water Bearer, Aquarius!" Lucy yells as she thrusts the key into the water.

A bell sounds in the air and a light pours out of the key to manifest into a mermaid spirit. She has long blue straight hair that flows down her back, a blue scaly tail, and an hourglass body.

Aquarius has her arms crossed as she glares down at her key holder. "You interrupted my date with Scorpio," she hisses with a tick on her brow.

Lucy ignores the evil look on her spirit's face and points to the raging fires in the forest. "Aquarius I need to you to put out the fire, quick!"

Aquarius' face drops in surprise once she sees the flame before changing into one of annoyance. "And how is this my problem?" she demands crudely.

"Please Aquarius before someone gets hu-"

A cry for help sounds in the forest and both woman and mermaid turn to see a man trapped in the blazing forest. Without thought, Lucy runs off into the flames to help. Aquarius calls out for her to wait but Lucy ignores her as she disappears into the forest.

Aquarius scowls at the audacity of her owner to ignore her. She looks over at two groups of humans that don't seem to notice the fire raging behind them and are fighting each other. Another tick forms on her brow as she waits to see if they will do anything about it rather than just fighting like a bunch of children.

Lucy races into the forest and grabs Taurus key. She calls out the bull spirit as she closes in on the trapped man.

"Hang on, we're here to help!" she tries to yell over the roar of the fire. Smoke floats in her face and she has to cover her mouth to stop herself from gagging.

"Ple-please!" he coughs violently.

A tree falls to the ground between the mage, the bull, and the man so Lucy and Taurus leap over the fallen tree. Taurus lands squarely on his feet while Lucy lands with a thud as one of her feet land in a sink hole.

"Don't worry about me, get him out of here," she commands the perverted bull as she points to the man crumpled on the ground gasping for clean air.

Taurus's eyebrows crease in worry but he reluctantly obeys. He effortlessly hauls the man over his shoulder and runs out of the forest.

Fire blazes around Lucy as she pulls her leg out of the hole to discover that a spiral of roots have trapped her foot and ankle.

Laxus runs into the forest as Taurus runs out with an unconscious man over his shoulder. Following his instinct he follows the path Taurus left to the middle of the forest fire.

Lucy yanks on the roots with all of her strength to untangle her foot. A large nearby tree that is going up in bright intense flames creaks and slightly tips over her as the flames eat away at the foundation. Panic sets into the blonde as she tries to tear the roots to free herself. The tree falls slightly forward once more but stops again.

Laxus reaches a small patch of ground that is untouched by the flames to see Lucy sitting on the ground about twenty feet away.

"Lucy!" Laxus yells but his voice gets lost in the surrounding noise.

The tree continues to go up in a blaze as it tilts forward again but stops once more. It finally cracks as the fire reaches the innards of the trunk and falls toward the young woman while she vehemently tries to pull her foot from the twisted roots.

Laxus acts unconsciously and he morphs into lightning to reach her in time. Lucy twirls her head around at the sound of a large crack behind her and sees giant flames falling towards her at a great speed. Time slows down to a crawl as Lucy watches the tree fall towards her with no way of escape or the time to do so. The heat from the flames grows against her skin as the tree closes the gap between it and her…

Then, in the blink of an eye, a pair of strong arms firmly cradles her body and sweeps her away.

Lucy instinctively wraps her arms around her rescuer's neck and shoulders with a firm grip and blinks in total surprise at the spiky blonde hair and strong jaw directly in front of her face. She hears the tree's burning wood crash to the forest floor as the flames flicker and spit a short distance away but the realization of what happened in the last ten seconds hasn't set in just yet.

Aquarius' patience hits its breaking point as she watches the two factions of "soldiers" continue attacking each other rather than help extinguish the fire. The shortage of patience turns into vast amounts of outrage as she gets fed up with how everyone is acting like the idiots that they are.

"WHY DO I ALWAYS HAVE TO DO ALL OF THE WORK!? I'M GOING TO DROWN ALL OF YOU FOR THIS!" the voice of Aquarius shrieks in fury on top of the lake as she holds her urn over her head.

The mermaid spirit morphs her magic so a shot of water shoots out of urn and merges with the water from the lake. The water from the lake then turns into a giant tidal wave as she twists the urn around her body. With a war cry she swings the urn downward to send the wave toward every idiot and tree in her path.

The water rolls harshly over the land to splinter and break the trees and simultaneously dousing the burning fires. Nothing in the wave's path is left undamaged or untouched.

Lucy eyes instinctively widen at the sound of the angry spirit as she twists her head to tell Aquarius to not do anything drastic but only yelps in horror as a tidal wave heads straight towards her and Laxus. Laxus slightly gapes at the oncoming water in confusion (why would Lucy's own spirit try to hurt her?) but snaps out of it in order to charge lightning around his and her bodies. Both of the blonde's grips naturally tighten as they prepare for the oncoming wave of water.

The moment before the water strikes both two blondes, a lightning barrier appears in front of Laxus. Water strikes the barrier with a crushing blow but Laxus remains firm and holds the shield against the force of the water. With no other way, the water is pushed to the side of the barrier to flow around Laxus and Lucy before remerging behind them.

Laxus holds the water back while clutching Lucy tightly to his chest as the water hits everything around them. Lucy's voice calls out to him but he is focusing too much on keeping her safe to truly understand her words. Two long, torturous minutes pass with a rapid of water flowing around them before the water subsides.

Water seeps into the earth and drips from every square inch of surface of everything in the vicinity. All of the trees have been crushed, splintered, and destroyed from the water so the open field is surrounded by a wide area of fallen trees.

Laxus pants slightly as he drops his shield after he knows that it's safe. _God damn that was a lot of water…_

"Laxus…" Lucy whispers in awe against his skin as she stares up at him with wide eyes. That was…everything…was amazing. Truly astonishing. Words escape her as tries to fathom everything he was able to achieve in the past ten minutes.

The hushed wisp of his name against his ear makes him automatically turn his head toward the source of the faint noise. His nose lightly brushes against something and his lips press into something tender when he fully faces the woman in his arms.

Firm, thin lips softly press against supple, plump lips as warm brown eyes meets electrifying green eyes. The scent of sweet strawberries and perfumed lilacs overwhelm Laxus' olfactory senses while the smell of tangy limes and fresh rain fills Lucy's nose. Surprise shines in each of their eyes as their minds try to catch up to the current situation from three seconds ago…

…very close…

…eye to eye…

…lips…touch…ing…!

Both jerk away in shock as it hits them.

They were kissing.

…kissing… _each_ _other…_

Embarrassment floods Laxus' whole being like one of Aquarius' attacks and warms his cheeks. Not really knowing what to do in this situation, he does the only thing that seems rational.

He immediately and awkwardly drops Lucy on her butt and backs away from her to look pointedly away with red cheeks.

His heart is beating out of his chest like he just ingested liquid adrenaline and all he can think about is running away from the humiliation of facing the woman but his whole body is frozen from shock.

Lucy yelps loudly in surprise at the feelings of her backside hitting the ground but that feeling is quickly and immensely subdued by the embarrassment of what just happened. A deep red blush colors her entire face as she turns away from the man and covers her burning face with her hands. She starts shaking and gasping for air as her heart beats so hard that her chest hurts.

"I-I-I'm s-so so sorry!" she stammers in embarrassment. "I-I didn't mean to…!"

"U-uh, i-it wasn't you're fault…" he replies just embarrassed as her and still not looking at her.

Small groans and squeaks of awkwardness fill the air as the two blondes refuse to face each other.

"Well, well," a familiar voice snides haughtily from behind Lucy, "it's about time that you got a boyfriend."

Lucy gasps and spins around to find Aquarius smirking down at her with her hands on her scaly hips. Her face turns cheery red as her muscles bunch up and her heart races. _Oh no! Sh-she saw us!?_

Laxus snaps his head up to look wide eyed at the floating mermaid. _Oh fuck…_

"I didn't know that you liked older men," the mermaid teases devilishly as she leans down to be closer to Lucy's face.

"I-it's not what you think! It was an accident! H-he's not my boyfriend!" Lucy sputters in a fluster as she jolts up to a standing position and waves her hands in front of her in denial. She looks everywhere except at her spirit and Laxus. _Oh gods this can't be happening!_

Laxus looks pointedly away again as he feels his face heat up again and body becomes as stiff as a board.

Well this is it. This is how he is going to die, he's sure of it. He always thought he was going to go out by sacrificing himself in some grand glorious battle while he defends the honor of his family—but oh no.

On this very day, he's going to die of embarrassment from being caught accidently kissing a mermaid spirit's master…

Maybe he will have better luck in his next life.

"Oh? Was holding you an accident too?" Aquarius asks smugly with that never ending smirk.

Lucy's whole body turns lava red as steam pours out of ears. By some miracle, she has not fainted…yet.

"T-tha-that's…" she stutters incoherently.

Despair and horrific mortification pours down over Laxus and he begins to wonder if he should just try and electrocute himself to death before he is forced to suffer anymore humiliation.

Lucy takes a deep gulp and faces her spirit with faux confidence. "He saved me from a falling tree and your tidal wave. If you hadn't tried to drown everyone we wouldn't have…" she trails off bashfully as she dips her head and blushes at the memory.

A loud burst of laughter erupts from Aquarius before tauntingly saying, "So you're blaming me for all of this? I'll take credit for making a little girl finally kiss a boy but I'm not the one who put everyone out of commission."

Lucy snaps her head up to frown at her oldest spirit, her face still red. "What do you mean!? You're the one who flooded the entire area!"

"True…but I'm not the one who electrocuted everyone," Aquarius clicks her tongue at her "owner" mockingly.

Both blondes' faces and stomachs drop. "What?" they demand in unison as they blink at the mermaid.

She raises a perfect manicured eyebrow and points to the open field off to the side. They follow her finger and gape in horror at the sight before them.

Every single person present at the battle or in the royal section is lying on the ground completely soaked, twitching, and unconscious. Even the Thunder Legion and Team Natsu were not spared and lay out amongst the other soldiers in weird heaps and positions.

Evergreen is going to throw a fit when she sees where Bickslow's face has landed.

"Your boyfriend's magic electrified the water and caused everyone caught in the wave to be electrocuted," she explains matter-of-factly. "No boyfriend, no electricity—simple as that."

"He's not my boyfriend!" Lucy shouts indignantly as she turns back on Aquarius.

Laxus remains rooted in his spot as he gapes at what he indirectly caused. Disbelief and guilt from accidently electrocuting his family and some strangers add to the utter embarrassment that is currently wracking his body. _Can this get any fucking worse?_

Aquarius crosses her arms and smirks triumphantly. "You see? If anyone's hurt it's because of your _boyfriend_ ," she purrs the last word as she rolls her tongue.

Lucy's face turns a deep red from both anger and embarrassment. "It was an accident! And he wouldn't have electrocuted anyone if you didn't flood the whole forest!"

"And I remember a little girl calling me out in the middle of my date in order for me to put out a forest fire," Aquarius retaliates with a cold glare.

Lucy flinches backwards and twiddles her fingers together pathetically.

"Besides, you ought to thank me for helping you at least get one kiss in your miserable life. You would _never_ be able to get any further by yourself."

"Hey! That's not true!" Lucy shrieks in anger and waves her fist in the air.

"Whatever," Aquarius flips her tail condescendingly. "Don't call me out for a month or I'll interrupt your dates when you least expect it," she threatens as she disappears back into the spirit world.

"We're not dating!" Lucy yells at the empty spot as she bristles in anger. She pouts as she spins away with a huff.

"Lucy! Laxus!" Wendy yells from above as her and Carla swoop down to land between them. "What happened down here? Why is everyone unconscious?"

Lucy and Laxus deadpan in annoyance. "Uh…" they mumble as they mindlessly glance at one another. Their eyes meet briefly before they look pointedly away from one another with small pink blushes.

Wendy blinks and cocks her head to the side in confusion at the two blondes. "Are you guys okay?" she asks worriedly. Did they get hurt too?

"Y-yeah," Lucy answers quickly. "W-we should help everyone," Lucy mumbles as she tries to cool her blush.

Laxus grunts and begins to walk toward where all of the unconscious bodies lie. He wills his blush away and tries to focus on anything but the blonde woman behind him. _Don't look back…don't look back…don't look back…_

Lucy peeps at his retreating figure through her eyelashes and feels her cheeks heat up again. Oh god…she can't even look at him without blushing! How is she going to going to get through the rest of the day!? How is she _ever_ going to face him!?

Embarrassment rolls over her as her shoulders shake. She takes several quick shallow breaths to calm her nerves enough to bring herself back to reality.

 _It's okay….it's okay…_ she repeats to herself internally. _It was just an accident. Just an innocent little accident._

"Lucy?" Wendy says worriedly. "Are you sure you're okay?"

"Yes," Lucy nods, "I'm fine. No biggie. Let's go make sure no one's dead."

Wendy frowns in concern but doesn't press the issue. What's up with these two?

Both girls and the cat walk over to the fallen bodies. Lucy explains what happened to Wendy and Carla about why everyone is unconscious (excluding the kissing part, of course). Wendy sighs in worry before using her magic to see if anyone has significant injuries. Taurus quickly joins the ladies and greatly helps in their making-sure-people-are-not-dead-from-accidental-electrocution endeavor.

* * *

An hour and a half later, everyone has woken up from their temporary electricity-induced comas. Princess Yennefer has declared that a final duel take place since the sun is setting over the horizon. The Fairy Tail mages almost argue but annoyed and tired looks from the rest of the participants make the words die on their tongues.

Everyone has gathered around their prince as they prepare themselves for the final battle…

An intense game of rock, paper, scissors.

"Alright," Princess Yennefer states seriously as she looks between her two brothers. "Are you both ready?"

"Yes," they reply in unison with looks of determination on their faces, neither willing to lose.

"On three," Lucy says loudly. "One…two…three!"

The princes throw out their hands toward one another. Prince Lambert makes the formation of a pair of scissors and Prince Eskel makes the formation of a piece of paper.

"Prince Lambert of the Unifell Army wins!" Princess Yennefer declares loudly.

Cheers of celebration erupt from the Unifell Army while solemn groans of defeat echo amongst the Rodanian Army.

"No arguing now," Lucy reminds everyone with a scowl.

"Yeah, yeah," prince Eskel pouts.

"May I have everyone's attention," Lambert yells over the two crowds. "Tomorrow shall be the day the fruits of the Unifell army shall come to fermentation and tonight shall be one of festivity. Let us all drink and celebrate together!"

Roars of approval and excitement explode from both sides. Everyone starts to walk toward the Solaris camp in order to begin the celebrations of a well-fought battle.

Lucy sighs tiredly and runs a hand across her face. _Looks like I'm not getting any sleep tonight after all…_

* * *

Later that night as both of the armies drink, cheer, and make merry together, Lucy is getting ready for bed. Wendy and Carla are attending the parties across the camp while Laxus stands guard outside.

Lucy gently brushes her hair in front of her mirror. The sound of Bickslow and Damus singing in the distance echoes through and she can't help the small smile that spreads across her face. She's happy that everyone's getting along now—it's a lot less worrisome.

Yet she's still worried. She heaves a sigh as she flips her hair over the other shoulder to continue brushing.

Neither her nor Laxus has spoken or looked at each other for more than a few seconds since their accidental kiss earlier and it worries her. She knows that the whole accident was morbidly embarrassing and all but she doesn't want any awkwardness between them.

They have just started to get to know one another and learned that they like a lot of the same things. It would be a shame for that connection to be ruined because of one tiny, little accident. It would be heartbreaking to her. She enjoys spending her time with the blonde male. Sure he can be moody and stubborn but he's actually a really, really good guy underneath that rough exterior. She doesn't want to lose the friendship that they have developed.

So what should she do?

Meanwhile, Laxus is outside trying to focus, and failing, on watching the idiots celebrate. All of his thoughts and emotions are consumed, conquered, and/or downright overwhelmed by the blonde woman.

If he thought that he was confused about his emotional and mental states before, well he has been thrown into a fucking hurricane of confusion now.

Every part of him is at civil war with itself about what happened earlier and he honestly has no idea about how to handle any of it. Hell he doesn't even know where to begin with anything! His mind is constantly reminding him about how stupid he was for putting himself in that situation but at the same time it's pleased with confirming how soft her lips are. His emotional state is embarrassed, distraught, and humiliated as well as joyous, peaceful, and proud. A part of him does not want to see Lucy's face ever again while another part wants to spend every moment with her.

A massive headache begins to throb inside of the left of his skull and only serves to make the whole dilemma more painful.

He is trying his damnedest to not think about the why, what, or how because he knows that he will be on the verge of a full emotional explosion if he delves into that minefield. He needs to go away. Go someplace where he can think in peace and handle all of this… _shit_ going on inside of his brain and heart. Somewhere away from _her_.

"Laxus?" Lucy's quiet voice calls out to him from inside the tent.

"God dammit…" he growls lowly under his breath. So much for that wish.

"Yeah?" he sighs as he enters the tent. He waits by the tent flap as Lucy sits on her bed.

Lucy looks up at him before dropping her eyes to look at how her hands are fumbling with the edge of her nightgown.

"I, um…wanted to talk to you," she starts strong but mumbles the last words.

"Yeah?" he questions as he crosses his arms defensively.

"Um, yeah…I was hoping that we could talk about… _earlier_."

Laxus tenses up as he remembers the softness of her lips but he tries to appear indifferent. "What about it?" he grumbles lowly.

"Well it just seems like…" she pauses as the words get caught in her throat. "That, um…well you and I, uh…we're not… ah, gods."

Lucy stops and takes a deep breath. _Come on Lucy, you can do this,_ she encourages herself. She takes a moment to get her thoughts in order before looking reassured at the man that has been invading her thoughts all day.

"Look Laxus," Lucy says more confidently than before but still gently. "I'm really sorry about earlier. It was really embarrassing for both of us and it's understandable why it's been awkward between us since… _then_. But I don't want it to be awkward between us. It feels like we're not even friends anymore and…I don't want that. It was a lot of fun listening to your music and watching the movies and going on jobs with you…"

"I guess what I'm trying to say is: can we just forget that it happened?"

Laxus stares at her with a hurt look. _She wants to forget about it?_

His mind and body slow down as unforeseen and unknown pain pierces his heart at the rejection. The pain is as clear as her in front of him. It is the only thing that he registers in his mind or feels in his body and it hurts. It hurts like nothing else he has ever felt before. He has been in hundreds of battles, both for fun and to-the-death, and experienced pain in almost every form—every form except this. It's not physically induced but it hurts like he was stabbed with a knife. His whole mind cringes while his heart aches in sadness.

It's so strange yet so real at the same time.

 _Why…?_ _Why does my heart hurt so bad…?_

"Laxus?" Lucy asks worriedly as he continues to stare at her.

Laxus clenches his eyes shut as if that will cure the pain inside of his heart. "I'm fine," he responds gruffly as his heart throbs in pain at the sound of her sweet voice.

"Are you sure?" she asks as she brings a hand to her chest.

"Yeah. Just…chest pains."

"Do you want me to get Wendy?"

"No. No, let her enjoy herself. She worked hard today."

"Alright," she whispers.

Several long, tense filled minutes tick by before Lucy clears her throat.

"So are we alright with one another…or not?" she asks hesitantly and worriedly. No decisions have been made in their discussion and it's starting to scare her. Did she say something wrong? Did she come off too strong or too pushy? Was she asking too much? Why won't he say something!?

Laxus closes his eyes and sighs. The pain in his chest has not gone away and doesn't seem like it's going to go away. As much as it hurts him, he needs to be rational and handle this like a man.

"You're okay with doing that?" he asks for confirmation.

Lucy jolts slightly and nods quickly. "Yeah! I just want us to be friends again! Whatever it takes!" she claims passionately and with a small fist pump. Her face melts into one of apprehension as she looks at him again and says quietly, "Is that alright?"

A flicker of hope burns in the wounded part of his heart and he can practically feel his heart heal under the grace of that miraculous feeling. He hasn't been completely rejected and that lightens his very soul.

She still wants to be friends with him. That means that they'll spend more time together. Even if it hurts knowing that she doesn't want to remember their kiss, he'll take this opportunity.

 _Yet, why am I so happy about this? Why do I want to spend time with her so badly? Why was I so hurt earlier when I thought she didn't want to see me again? Later Laxus, you can figure this out later when you're alone._

"Yeah, that's fine with me," he gives her a small forced smirk to hide his uncertainty about his feelings regarding her.

"Are you sure?" she asks with concerned filled eyes.

"Yeah," he nods, "I'm sure."

"Good," she heaves a relieved sigh. "I'm glad that's settled."

He merely grunts at her. "Getting ready for bed?" he asks to change the subject.

"Trying to. How about you?"

"Ye-"

"I love beer," slurred voices sing directly outside the tent, "beer loves me! Slurping, drinking, and gulping till I pee!" The voices move toward and away from the tent as they continue to sing.

Laxus scowls and growls at being interrupted. "Well, I want to but I can't sleep with all of these idiots singing," he frowns in irritation.

Lucy pouts with apologetic eyes. "Yeah, I understand," she sighs.

A dangerous and highly ideal idea pops into Laxus' mind as a minor detail that was subconsciously shoved to the recesses of his mind during his earlier panic-induced, catastrophic shit storm of emotional distress comes to light.

"We could leave," he suggests with a smirk.

Lucy blinks up at him in confusion. "Huh?"

"We can just leave. Geralt and Yennefer are supposed to run off together anyway, aren't they? We can leave the festival, go find a hotel in the village, and get a good night's sleep without abandoning our roles. All we gotta do is leave a note saying that Geralt and Yennefer have run away in the middle of the night and everyone will have to go along with it because it's part of the story," he explains without dropping his smirk.

Understanding dawns on Lucy as her face lights up. "Laxus Dreyar, you are a genius!" she exclaims in excited happiness. She immediately walks over to one of her tables and pulls out a quill, ink pot, and a piece of paper.

It's about time that she got some beauty rest. Oh a hot bath too! God how she needs a bath…

"What should I say?" she asks over her shoulder to her bodyguard.

"Something short and simple. The shorter it is, the faster we get out of here and the sooner we get to sleep," he sighs tiredly as he stretches his neck.

"Alright," she declares as she nibbles on her lip in thought. A lightbulb appears on top of her head before she hurriedly jots something down on the paper.

She explains in writing that she (Princess Yennefer) and Geralt have run away together to a far off country. Princess Yennfer loves her brothers and her people but she wishes to be with Geralt and they can't be together in Vizema. She wishes everyone farewell and tells them not to come looking for them.

Lucy seals the letter up with the official royal seal before laying it on the bed. She quickly gathers her clothes and Laxus' clothes (since she had the super smart idea of grabbing them after he changed) and was ready to go. Laxus tosses his fur lined coat over his shoulders before leaving the tent with Lucy on his heels.

Laxus leads the way to the outskirts of the camp without anyone noticing them. Lucy giggles to herself the entire way at the thought of running away from their friends with Laxus. She can only imagine the looks on their faces in the morning when they find her and Laxus gone. It'll be hilarious!

As soon as they reach the dirt road leading out of the Solaris camp, Laxus directs them along the path to the town. He asks if she has any particular place in mind to which she shakes her head.

As long as the inn has a warm bath and a comfy bed then Lucy will be satisfied.

 **I believe that I have officially caught up to my original number of posted chapters so everyone should be able to review without any problems from here on out. Please let me know what you think of this chapter!**

 **I based Laxus' look off of Geralt of Rivea's Witcher School of the Bear outfit from the video game The Witcher 3. If you're curious, please feel free to look it up. And yes I used the names from the game but this story is not based on it.**


	21. Chapter 21

**Thank you for all of your patience with this story. I've been very busy with school and work and haven't had time to write.**

 **Hiro Mashima owns Fairy Tail and all corresponding characters. I only own the extra characters and plot.**

Two days after Laxus and Lucy "ran away" together—which wound up with them going to an inn in town and sleeping until midafternoon the following day—they stand at the outskirts of Harwick facing Erza, Gray, and the Thunder Legion.

"Are you certain that you do not want to stay?" Erza asks with a small sad frown.

"We're going to play zombies! It'll be fun!" Bickslow chuckles enthusiastically.

"No thanks," Lucy and Laxus decline as they sweatdrop at their teams.

"I need to get back to the guild and report to the old man," Laxus says with a hint of annoyance. _And to get away from all of these weirdos._

"And I should really be there in case the Master needs anything," Lucy adds with a nervous laugh. _In reality, I just don't want to be here when the whole town gets destroyed because of these guys. Can't be blamed if I'm not here!_

"That would be wisest," Erza nods in understanding.

"We'll be going now," Laxus interjects as he turns away.

Lucy bids everyone one last farewell before leaving town with Laxus.

She stretches her arms above her head and moans, "Mmmm! Glad that's over!"

"No kidding," he agrees with a grunt. "We need to go a little further before I can teleport us home. Don't want to disrupt the power lines."

Lucy giggles behind her hand as she looks up at the nearby electrical wires running next to the road. "You mess up the power lines?"

"According to an old woman with schizophrenia, I do," Laxus pouts with a deadpan. "Been banned from using my magic next to power lines ever since I was fourteen."

Lucy busts out laughing as Laxus continues to pout for several minutes. They take a turn along the road so they are no longer near any electrical wires.

"That sounds like an interesting story," she replies after her laughter dies down.

He glances at her from the corner of his eye and she gives him an innocent smile. "Fine," he relents with a sigh as they stop walking. "I'll tell you over dinner."

"Deal," she agrees happily.

"Miss Lucy!" a familiar voice calls out from behind both of the blondes.

Lucy groans in complaint while Laxus growls in annoyance as they look over their shoulders.

"Hey Niko," Lucy sighs in exasperation.

"I…I was…hoping…to catch…you," he huffs out between pants as the scrawny man runs up to them.

"What is it?" she asks with a tired expression.

"W-Well…" he stutters out as he drops his head and rubs the back of his arm nervously. "I-I w-w-wanted to a-ask…" he trails off as a thick blush covers his cheeks and he drops in head in embarrassment.

Lucy cocks her head to the side and raises an eyebrow at him in confusion. "Huh?"

He looks up with forced determination and seriousness painted on his face. "I…w-wanted t-to ask you…" he trails off again as he focuses on how beautiful the blonde woman looks before him.

Lucy raises her eyebrows and nods slowly in expectation. "Ask me what?" she presses in an effort to help him finish his sentence.

 _He's going to ask her out_ , a voice sounds in the back of Laxus' mind as the obviousness of what the faltering mess of a man is trying to ask Lucy hits Laxus full-force in the gut. A low dangerous growl of irritation spills from his throat unexpectedly as he feels his "non-existent" jealousy bubble viscously in his chest.

Both Lucy and Niko turn to look at the blonde man in surprise.

Laxus visibly stiffens as he realizes what happened. Beads of sweat appear on his face and his mouth runs dry. Thoughts of escaping the embarrassing situation run through his mind at blinding speeds but not wanting to look like a coward stops his muscles from moving. So instead, his mind conjures a devilish idea in order to get his ass out of trouble and to save Lucy from being asked out by the little punk.

A cocky smirk pulls on the side of his lips as he leans down to throw his arm over the celestial mage's shoulders and pull her body closer to his own. Lucy looks at him in surprise from the strange action as a light blush covers her cheeks while Niko's face falls.

"I think what he's trying to ask you Lucy is if you have any advice about how to handle Erza during the rest of the festival," he claims as he gives Niko a challenging glare.

Niko scowls at the larger man but remains silent.

"Oh!" Lucy's face lights up as she finally understands what the whole commotion was about. She gives Niko a sympathetic yet understanding smile and says, "First of all, don't make her mad. No matter how powerful she is during the festival, she is a hundred times more powerful in real life and trust me, you don't want to be at the end of her sword when she's angry. Secondly, she's tends to go to the extreme often so don't feel bad if you can't keep up. Lastly, if you're really not comfortable about something, just tell her. She can be very reasonable when she wants to be." Lucy taps a finger to her lips in thought. "That's about it. Anything else?" she asks as she sends another smile at Niko.

Niko narrows his eyes at the smirking man who still has his arm slung over the beautiful woman's shoulders. "No, that's all," he grumbles.

"Good. Now, we gotta go," Laxus smirks triumphantly as he pulls Lucy into his chest.

Lucy mumbles something incoherent as lightning charges around their two bodies. Static fills the air and raises the hair on Niko's body as the bright yellow light engulfs both of the blonde's bodies. A deafening crack resounds in the air to signal the departure of the two Fairy Tail mages.

Niko watches in awe as the bright lightning bolt surges through the air toward the horizon. Niko stands there completely awestruck for several minutes after they have disappeared from his view. Once the amazement has waned, disappointment fills his heart.

He wanted so badly to ask the woman out on a date. He tried so hard to impress her during the festival but it was all in vain; turns out that she's with that tall, brooding, brute after all. Why does he always fall for the unavailable ones?

With a thick, heavily resigned sigh, Niko slowly makes his way back to the festival.

* * *

A few hours later, Laxus lands in his usual spot on the outside of town. Lucy keeps a firm grip on his waist as an intense dizzy spell hits her. Laxus gently holds her steady as she takes deep breaths. Nausea makes her stomach twirl and twists but the deep breathes halt the need to vomit.

The two blondes stay this way for many minutes until Lucy's head is cleared.

"You could have warned me first," she whines pathetically.

"I was ready to go," he rebuffs trying to sound apathetic but lingering irritation at Niko bleeds into his tone.

"Well I wasn't," she bend her head backwards to glare half-heartedly up at him.

He returns her glare with a playful one of his own. With a harrumph, she takes careful measured steps away from him to see if she can balance herself.

"We need to go to the guild. Gramps is probably waiting for us to be back," Laxus states matter-of-factly as he watches her take a few baby steps back and forth.

"Yeah, good idea. I don't want to worry him," she concedes.

They make the short journey to the guild in companionable silence. Once they reach the guild doors, they are greeted with boisterous yelling and flying debris of tankards, fruit, and chairs at the stage as Gajeel sings a duet with Elfman.

This sight can only be described as a robotic man with his vocal chords rusted over singing into one mic and a giant overzealous ape screaming his lungs out into the other.

"Well, thank God we didn't miss this exhibit," Lucy mumbles out sarcastically.

"I think my ears are bleeding," Laxus joins in with more sarcasm.

Screams of getting the two off the stage echo through the other patrons of the guild as Lucy and Laxus head to where Makarov sits on the bar.

Mira notices the two's approach from behind the bar. A huge wave of hope and excitement floods her heart when she sees the two blondes together, once again. Those two can never seem to be away from one another! It's so adorable! They're like two blonde peas in a pod.

 _Wait a minute, why are they together?_ she thinks to herself with a cock of her head and a roll up of her blue eyes. _Didn't Laxus go on that mission and Lucy went to some kind of festival? They shouldn't have been anywhere near one another and yet, here they are. So that means…That means that they must have found one another! Ah, how sweet!_ she cheers internally as her face morphs into a wide smile.

 _They went out of their way to be together! They must really love one another for them to go this far. Too bad they're not dating. They would be so much happier if they could just take that first step. Or if they had someone to help them take that first step…_

Purpose and hope blooms in Mira's chest as schemes of potentially romantic situations to put Lucy and Laxus into conjure in her mind. She'll help these two love-sick puppies come together and they'll be so happy together! She can't wait!

"Hello Lucy! Hello Laxus!" Mira chirps happily as she waves at them.

Lucy gives her a smile before both her and Laxus cringe in exasperation as Gajeel and Elfman start screaming insults into the microphones in retaliation of the insulting crowd. Something along the lines of "you lazy, untalented bastards!" and "it's not manly to insult a man!".

Guess who said what.

"Hey Mira. Hey Master," Lucy sighs as the slam of a table rings in the background, signaling the beginning of a brawl. She sits next to the Master while Laxus takes a seat next to her and orders a beer from the white haired barmaid.

"How was the mission?" Mira asks sweetly as she pours beer into a tankard.

"Fine. Nagla's dead," Laxus answers flatly as she lays his beer in front of him.

Mira gasps lightly and Makarov turns his head to look in astonishment at his grandson.

"He's dead?" he reiterates for clarification.

"Yep. Suicide," Laxus replies nonchalantly before taking a long gulp of his beer.

"How horrible," Mira breaths as she lays a hand on her chest.

Laxus merely grunts at her in neither confirmation nor denial of her statement.

"Well, it can't be helped now," Makarov sighs as he furrows his eyebrows. "What happened?" he directs his question at the younger Dreyar.

Laxus sighs and gestures for a refill form Mira. He tells them how the job with the detective went as Lucy's attention shifts from the conversation to the brawl behind her.

"I see," Master nods his head as he crosses his arms. "At least we can rest easy knowing that Lucy will be safe."

Mira gives him a bothered look but nods her head slowly in agreement. The brawl has died down considerably since the beginning of the story and forces Lucy's attention back to the conversation.

"How did the festival go?" Mira changes the subject in order to lighten the mood.

Lucy and Laxus deadpan and pout in exasperation.

"Oh, ya know, the usual," Lucy states sarcastically and flatly. "Aliens, a civil war, raids, a little too realistic rivalry between Team Natsu and the Thunder Legion, a rampaging Erza, a burning forest, an angry mermaid, and running away from the altar…pretty normal stuff."

Laxus chuckles beside her but hides it by lifting his tankard to his lips.

Mira and Master blink and look at one another in bafflement.

"What?" they ask in unison as they turn back to Lucy.

"Who ran away from the altar?" a new voice pipes in suddenly.

Lucy turns around as a wide smile spreads over her face. "Hey Levy!"

"Hey Lucy!" the script mage exclaims as she takes a seat on the other side of the master. "Were you saying something about someone getting married?"

Lucy sighs as she shakes her head. "Let me start from the beginning," she claims as she holds up her hands.

Lucy tells the three other mages everything that occurred over the past week. She leaves nothing out—mainly due to her wanting to rant about her overenthusiastic teammates again—except for the moments when she and Laxus shared their kiss and that they were ran away together. She made sure to fill those spots with little white lies. In retrospect, she realized how many little details of her stories she has left out ever since she started taking jobs with Laxus but decided to not let that bother her.

Levy, Master, and Mira listen adamantly to Lucy's story while Laxus peacefully drinks his beer beside her. The only time he interrupts Lucy is when he adds why he and the Thunder Legion sought Lucy out in the first place. It takes nearly two hours for the blonde woman to finish her story but by the end, Levy was in tears from laughing so hard, Mira was laughing behind her hand, and Master was crying from the property damage that he'll have to pay.

"Why does your team have to destroy everything?" Makarov weeps pathetically on the bar.

"Hey," Mira interrupts light-heartedly with an airy chuckle, "at least the town didn't burn down."

Makarov sighs in relief at the nice thought before his eyes go wide and gasps in horror.

"BUT THEY'RE STILL THERE!" he screams in dismay. "IT COULD STILL HAPPEN!" Big rivers tears sprout of his eyes as he imagines a town made of jewels that is burned, frozen, and cut away into nothing by the other members of Team Natsu.

Laxus scowls at his grandfather in annoyance and Lucy leans away in concern while Mira and Levy try to console the upset old man.

"I think we're just going go," Lucy says slowly with a sweatdrop as she slips off of her barstool to back away.

"Yeah," Laxus agrees as he quickly joins her to leave his bawling grandfather behind.

They quickly retreat to the front doors and leave just as Levy tries to calm the master down but Makarov bursts into new hysterical tears.

"So what's the plan?" Lucy asks Laxus as they stop in the guild's courtyard.

"Dinner?" he suggests simply.

"What time?"

"Six?"

"Anything particular?"

"Eggrolls, at least."

"With pork or just veggies?"

"Eh, do I look like a vegetarian?"

Lucy can't help but laugh at that one. "No, I guess not. Let's go shopping now since we're already in town," she smiles broadly over her shoulder at him as she turns toward Magnolia.

He feels his heart flutter happily and warmth fills his chest. _Gods, she is beautiful_ , he thinks to himself as every line, curve, and shade of the image of her smiling up at him is painted onto the canvas of his memory. _And we won't be bothered by anyone tonight_ , he thinks to himself happily and in satisfaction.

A surge of pain in his head rips through his thoughts to pull him out of his reverie. With a silent curse, he quickly follows her in hopes of her not suspecting anything.

* * *

Later that evening, Lucy brings the last of the dinner to the table. Laxus is already sitting on the other end of the table as he waits for her to get seated.

Once everything is set, he thanks her for the meal before plowing into his food. Lucy takes small amounts of everything and puts them on her own plate.

"Where are you going to stay?" Laxus asks suddenly as he takes a momentary breather.

Lucy stops mid-air with a forkful of chow mein to blink at him. "Huh?"

Laxus points his fork at her as he chews on a piece of a pork bun and says with a full mouth, "Isn't you're apartment still being renovated?"

Lucy's arms and jaw drops in realization. "Aww man! I totally forgot about that!" she whines pathetically as her head drops to her chest in self-pity.

Honestly, she totally forgot about how her apartment got busted up and is currently being renovated. Now that she thinks about it, her apartment still won't be finished for almost another week! Where is she going to stay!?

"How can you forget about your apartment being destroyed?" Laxus asks blandly.

Lucy raises her eyes and scowls in annoyance at the man across the table from her. "Well excuse me, I've only been assaulted by Aliens and ensured the stability of an entire war-torn country for the past week. It kinda slipped my mind!" she retorts sharply.

"Is that why you had _two_ handmaidens? Because you're just so forgetful that you needed more than one?" he teases playfully as a shit-eating smirk plants itself onto his face.

Lucy's eyebrow twitches in aggravation. "Is that coming from the man that forgot to protect me well enough that I wouldn't get kidnapped?" she shoots back with a knowing look.

Laxus' smirk slightly falters before growing wider and says, "And yet her highness ran away with the man that forgot to keep her safe. Imagine how that future will turn out."

Lucy scoffs as a smirk of her own appears on her face. "She'll probably poison the first meal she ever makes him in order to shut him up. Eggroll?" she asks sweetly and with a sickly innocent smile as she holds out the plate of eggrolls to him.

Laxus narrows his eyes in suspicion at her. "Nice try. I'm not _that_ stupid."

Lucy bursts out laughing as she covers her mouth with her hand at the ridiculousness of their conversation. Laxus genuinely smile before laughing along with her.

"You can be really funny, Laxus," Lucy says merrily as she smiles warmly at him.

Laxus stops laughing to look at her in surprise. Being called funny by a beautiful smiling girl with love dancing in her eyes floods his entire system with embarrassment and bashfulness.

He focuses on his plate as a small blush creeps onto his face. "A-Anyway, you can stay here until your apartment is fixed," he mumbles out nervously.

 _God, I really need to figure out what's going on with me,_ he chastises himself mentally.

Lucy slightly cocks her head to the side at the dramatic change in his attitude. "You okay?" she asks in slight concern.

"Yep," he responds immediately, too quickly for his liking. He really needs to stop doing that.

"O-okay," Lucy nods in uncertainty but doesn't question his response. "Thanks, that would be nice," she accepts with a grateful smile.

"Oh! I need to bring the love poems!" she remembers suddenly as her face erupts into one of awareness.

Laxus looks up at her and blinks at her in confusion. "Love poems?" he asks slowly as if he didn't hear what she said correctly.

"Yeah!" she exclaims like it's obvious. "Remember? I said that I would bring Edgar Allen Poe's love poems right before we watched the Alien movies with everyone."

"Oh, yeah," he mumbles gruffly as he recalls her saying something about that.

"I also need to make sure my things are safe," she says thoughtfully as she cups her chin. "I think it would be best if I spend the night at Fairy Hills tonight. I can make sure my stuff is alright and get the book before I come over tomorrow. Is that okay?"

Laxus nods his head in approval. _That'll also give me time to figure out my feelings._

"Thank you Laxus. This means a lot to me," she says gratefully gives him another warm thankful smile.

"It's no problem," he insists as he starts eating again. "It'll make cooking for you a lot easier too. Don't have to run around town so much."

"Yeah, no kidding," she chuckles as she sips at her wonton soup. "Speaking of tomorrow's dinner, do you want anything special?"

Laxus rolls his eyes up in thought and imagines a juicy piece of rib-eye steak. Just as he opens his mouth to voice his idea, a bright yellow light appears between them at the edge of the table.

A familiar friend stands in the room when the light fades to look at the whole scene in front of him with miffed disbelief.

"So it is true!" he claims in shock.

"Loke!" Lucy exclaims in surprise. "What are you doing here!?"

 _So much for not being bothered tonight_ , Laxus thinks to himself in frustration.

"I came to see if the rumor was true. It would seem so but I still can't believe my eyes," he states dramatically.

Lucy looks at Loke in confusion as she asks, "What rumor?"

"Him," Loke answers as he points at Laxus.

Lucy and Laxus blink at Loke in bewilderment before simultaneously turning to each other and back at Loke.

"Loke, what are you talking about?" Lucy sighs in exasperation.

Loke flings his head away dramatically and tearful cries out with a hand over his heart in exaggeration, "I never saw this coming! I was expecting Natsu or Gray or even Gajeel! Not Laxus! Why! Why, Laxus!?"

A tick forms of her brow at her spirit's seemingly insulting gestures. "Loke, what the hell are you talking abo-"

"Ignore him," a haughty voice announces as another bright light shines in the room. Aquarius appears on the other side of the table to sit on a low table against the wall with her arms crossed and a scowl over her face. "He's just being a jealous brat."

Laxus blinks in surprise while Lucy slightly cringes in fear of the new arrival.

"J-J-Jealous? W-What do y-you mean?" she stutters out in hopes of not angering the mermaid.

A smug smirk replaces Aquarius' scowl as she directs her attention to her "owner" and says in amusement, "He's jealous that Lightning Boy is your boyfriend."

Aquarius turns her smugness toward her fellow spirit. Loke gives her a small glare but the mermaid is unperturbed.

Lucy's eyes go wide as saucers and jaw drop in embarrassment while Laxus' whole body freezes in disbelief. A noise similar to the last, dying breath of a mangled cat escapes Lucy's throat as all air leaves her body. Laxus remains perfectly still and bores a hole into Aquarius from the corners of his eyes.

Lucy's mouth slowly closes for the search for words but opens in stunned silence when none can be found. This pattern continues until a single word is _finally_ clear in her mind.

"…Huh?" she blurts out in astonishment.

"I'm not jealous! Although, I have every right to be if I was!" Loke defends himself stubbornly.

"No you don't. You never had a chance," Aquarius states dryly as she rolls her eyes.

Loke visibly flinches and opens his mouth to retaliate but Lucy cuts him off as she finally regains a train of thought.

"Why do you think I'm dating Laxus!?" she demands of her orange-haired spirit in an outrage.

Loke looks at her innocently and fixes his glasses as he explains, "Aquarius told everyone that you are dating a tall, blonde man with a lightning bolt scar on the right side of his face. It wasn't difficult to figure out who she was talking about."

"Lightning Boy?" Laxus finally adds to the conversation in partly disgust as he overcomes his own bafflement, still not able to feel the rest of his body.

Aquarius shifts her eyes to him and shrugs nonchalantly. "It's what Draco called you so that's what everyone besides Leo calls you now."

"Draco? What the fuck does he have to do with this?" the blonde man demands gruffly with a scowl as his fist collides with the table. _Great, I can feel my arm again._

Pale, gray smoke appears on the table in front of Laxus to roll over his plate. A little red dragon pops up just beyond his plate to give the blonde man a pointed look.

"What do you think you are doing sucking my Master's face?" he rebuffs with a raised eyebrow.

"Draco!" Lucy yells in mortification as her face turns red while Laxus glares down at the little punk.

"Hey, that's what Aquarius said!" he claims as he points to the mermaid.

"Aquarius!" Lucy screams as her face grows hotter.

"It's true, isn't it?" she says smugly and without an ounce of apology.

Lucy cringes and drops her head into her hands. _This can't be happening…_

"Everyone was so interested in your boyfriend that Draco and I told them everything we know about Laxus," Loke explains further although he is still somewhat irked. "I told them about Laxus' S-Class status, his failed attempt at a coup d'etat against his own grandfather, and how he also helped you guys out against Hades, in the games, and against the dragons."

"And I told them about how Lightning Boy bought Dorado, Hercules, and my key for you just to make you happy," the dragon says proudly.

Lucy and Laxus raise their faces to look at Draco in surprise before glancing at one another. They look away bashfully as their eyes meet.

Loke smiles sadly, Aquarius rolls her eyes at the sheer timidity of her "master", and Draco has a wide grin.

"I see what Aquarius was saying now," Loke admits with a sigh of resignation.

Lucy turns to him with furrowed eyebrows. "What did Aquarius say?"

He gives a small shrug before straightening up. "Oh, nothing much. Just that you're still figuring everything out."

"Of course they are! Just look at them!" she declares as she waves her hand at the two blondes. "I bet they haven't even told each other 'I love you' yet."

Lucy sputters in embarrassment and blushes so deeply that her ears and neck turn red while Laxus feels a tiny blush cover the apples of his cheeks.

"Guys, please don't…" Lucy meagerly interjects but is totally ignored.

"Why would they say that? There's no way that they're in love. They haven't even had any…" Loke pauses as he tries to sound at least somewhat professional, " _physical intimacy_. Right?" he turns to Lucy and narrows his eyes at her in question.

"Oh, here we go," Aquarius groans in dread and rolls her eyes.

Lucy gapes at her most amorous spirit in mortification as she feels her blush grows hotter. "NO! And that's none of your business!" she screams as she punches him in the skull and sends him flying into the wall.

Laxus feels his embarrassment peak at a new level and muscles stove up at the idea of touching Lucy like he does in his fantasies. _Holy fuck Dreyar, not now_ , his conscious reprimands him internally.

Loke gets up as he rubs his head and adjusts his tie.

"You deserved that," Aquarius jests with a swipe of her tail. "Not everyone confuses love and lust, like you."

Loke glares at the mermaid as he finishes with his tie. "I do no such thing. I just think that a strong physical relationship is key when it comes to maintaining a healthy relationship," Loke asserts stubbornly. "Or at the very least, it helps."

"No," Aquarius scowls, "the most important thing about love is that they share many things together. It's what keeps the relationship from becoming boring."

Loke snorts and puts a hand on his hip. "Since when do you and Scorpio have a lot in common?"

Aquarius' face drops into the coldest death glare that she can muster. It's so bad that Lucy slightly slides down in her chair in case she needs to hide under the table.

"Scorpio and I have lots in common," she hisses through grated teeth.

"You have as much in common as the sea and the desert," Loke smirks triumphantly.

"We share a lot of hobbies! So shut it!" Aquarius yells as the water in the glasses seem to shift toward the lion spirit.

"You're both wrong," Draco interjects the arguing gold-keyed spirits with a huff. "That's not what love is."

The four other occupants turn their attention to the forgotten dragon spirit near Laxus' plate. The water in the glasses drop to their normal levels as the previous argument is forgotten.

"Sure, it helps that the people have the same interests and enjoy each other physically but that's not what really matters." Draco explains as he nods his head sagely. "What really matters is that they both want the other person to be happy because that is what makes them happy. They protect one another when they expose their heart and soul in the most intimate and vulnerable way possible. They want to improve themselves so they can be a better person for their partner. They want what's best for the one they love even if it hurts them sometimes. That's love. It's loyalty, commitment, and honesty in its purist and highest form. And something that should never be taken lightly."

Dead silence fills the room as Lucy, Laxus, Loke, and Aquarius stare at the small dragon in amazement.

Knowing spread across Loke and Aquarius faces. They've been alive long enough to see love in every form. Sometimes, even they forgot how amazing the phenomenon of love truly is.

Lucy gapes at the little spirit in surprise. She was not expecting the dragon to say something so intimate and loving. A chord was struck deep inside of her at how beautiful love can be if it is shared between two people. She has always hoped to share a love like Draco described with someone…

The image of Laxus' beautiful mesmerizing eyes the night she kissed his cheek flash through her mind. A ghostly feeling of his strong and firm lips pressing against her own makes her silently gasp as heat runs throughout her body. Her heart flutters like a butterfly and her stomach knots itself so closely that she sure that it will never be unraveled.

The sudden and unexpected emotions snap her out of her reverie. She gently shakes her head to free her mind and body from the overwhelming feelings. Her eyes flick upwards in a bold dare to look at the man that caused her body to practically melt a moment ago. She finds him with a wandering expression in his eyes as he stares with unseeing eyes at Draco.

"Laxus?" she breathes out barely above a hushed whisper.

Laxus' mind is a blank. Wiped clean. All that's left is the decreasing pace of his heart and Draco's echoing words as he becomes lost within his own mind.

 _Love…?_ he thinks to himself in wonder. _Is he in love?_

For the past two days his thoughts have been centered on his and Lucy's relationship. He knows that they are at least friends from how they can bullshit together and enjoy being in each other's company. He was so certain that it wasn't anything more than a friendly association between them.

But then that kiss happened. Afterwards, his mind and heart were tossed into a whirlwind of confusion. Then they talked and she asked him to forget that it happened and…it _hurt_. It hurt like hell.

There is no denying that that he has some other type of connection than friendship with her after that. Otherwise he wouldn't have felt like he did. He would have passed it off without a second thought; not felt like he wanted to run away in shame.

So now, the real question is: what does he feel?

He doesn't know. All he knows is what he feels in his heart…

What do you call it when someone makes you feel happiness in the deepest part of your soul? How you also feel really peaceful when it's just you and her together; like there's nothing in wrong in your little world as long as you're together. But when she's not happy then it bothers you to the point that all you want to do is make her happy again. The world just doesn't feel right if she's not happy.

You feel like you want to share things with her that you can't share with anyone else in the world. Things that no one else would understand or appreciate like she does. You can hold an intelligible conversation for hours and never grow tired of her company or run out of things to say. You can be vulnerable around her without having to worry about her hurting you. In fact, she'll lift your heart and dismiss your fears.

You dream of caressing her soft skin and hugging her abundant curves. Of pleasuring her and satisfying her basic animalistic needs. You wish to explore her body in the need to bring her the fullest gratification. You want to provide for her in every way possible to ensure that she is wholly content with your presence.

You miss her the second she leaves and can't wait to see her again, even if it's just for a moment. The time you spend with her is never enough and there is always something new that you learn about each other. You look forward to each day that you see her because that is the highlight of your day.

What do you call those feelings?

Nothing made sense to him and he wondered if he was just going crazy…

…until now.

Now, with Draco's unintentional intervention, all of those doubts are replaced by certainty. All of those questions fade to a single answer. In that instant, it's like the whole world suddenly made sense to the lightning slayer. The music, protecting her, holding her, the movies, wanting to see her, the pain of her semi-rejection…it all makes sense now

He's in love.

He, Laxus Dreyar, is in love with Lucy Heartfilia.

Something akin to relief floods his system along with overwhelming amounts of euphoria. A deep purring reverberates within his chest as his dragon instincts cheer in victory. The slow deep pounding of his heart rapidly speeds up as those three little words repeat mercilessly in his mind.

 _I love her_ , he declares to himself completely awestruck. _I love her. I love her. I love her…_

Sharp, burning pain erupts in his mind. The euphoria mingles with the pain and brings him out of his dreamlike space.

"Laxus, are you okay?" a distant version of Lucy's worried voice calls out to him from somewhere outside of his thought space.

The familiar faces of the woman he loves and her spirits slowly come back into view. Lines become sharper and more pronounced as colors fade into different shades to create bright lights and shadows.

"What?" he asks as the haze in his mind fully clears. At some unknown point during his trip to Laxus Land, he reached up and started cradling his head with his left hand.

"Are you okay?" Lucy insists as her eyes burn with worry. "What's wrong?"

 _I love you_ , his mind declares wildly in response but the words do not reach his lips. It's just as Draco said, Laxus knows those words hold much promise and possible consequence that they cannot be taken lightly.

The awkward, estranged, introverted part of his soul sinks in fear and anxiety at revealing such an intimate, vulnerable emotion to the blonde woman but the hopeful, overflowing-with-love, real part of his soul wants to sing it to the world.

He has never been one for romantic relationships due to his general social awkwardness and dragon instincts but that never meant that he didn't want to fall in love. He always wanted to be with someone all of his life. And now he finally has someone. And he wants to grant himself that selfish wish to make her his.

So the last thing he wants to do is scare her off with an abrupt confession of hidden love.

No, he needs to pick the correct moment, the correct time, the correct place to declare such a thing; not during a dinner that is being interrupted by three celestial spirits while his love is staring at him in concern.

He'll wait. He'll be patient. He won't screw this up like almost everything else he's done in his life. She'll be something good in his life. The light in his life.

 _She needs an answer…_

"Yeah," he grunts with a wince. "Yeah, I just need some water."

"Here," Loke holds out a full glass of water out to his guildmate.

Laxus takes it and downs the whole glass. A refreshing breath is exhaled as he sets it down on the table.

"I'm fine," he reassures Lucy as he looks at to find her still concerned over him. "It was just a migraine."

Lucy's bites on her lip in apprehension. "Do you need to lie down? I hear that helps migraines."

He quickly shakes his head. "No, it's gone now. I'm good," he swears as his heart swells with happiness at how much concern she is showing for his health.

Lucy frowns in uncertainty. "Alright, if you're sure."

Aquarius and Loke share a knowing look. They realize that he is trying to seem tough so she won't worry. Maybe he won't be such a bad boyfriend, after all.

"Of course, he's sure," Draco confirms as he looks between them. "Why would he lie?"

Lucy pouts in thought at the question before giving both dragon and dragon slayer a small smile. "You're right," she tells them as she starts to relax from the weird event that just took place.

Laxus relaxes in his chair as he watches Lucy relax.

Draco's eyes drop down to a bowl of ramen on Lucy's end of the table. "Is that miso ramen!?" he asks excitedly. He picks up Laxus' fork, hoists it over his shoulder, and marches down to the yummy bowl of food.

"Don't eat-" Lucy snaps but yet another bright yellow light stops her.

"Pardon my intrusion," a sophisticated voice rings next to Laxus as the light fades to reveal the tall goat man.

Everyone snaps their hands to Laxus' left to see Capricorn standing there with his hands behind his back. All of the muscles in Laxus' body tense in reflexive defense as he realizes that someone got too close to him without him sensing them. It takes a huge surge of his willpower to not jump out of his chair to put distance between him and the goat man.

Lucy sweatdrops and deadpans at the new arrival. "Not you too…"

"I understand that this is highly irregular but I want it to be known that I believe that it would be in Lady Lucy's best interest if all of her spirits become more familiar with her courter personally," he continues in a level voice as he looks down at the skeptical Laxus.

"Good idea, Capricorn," Loke nods in approval. "This way we can all get comfortable with the idea of Lucy dating Laxus. Let's have dinner together tonight," he waves toward Lucy's prepared feast.

"What! No! You can't just-" Lucy stammers in a fluster while Laxus' mouth drops in utter shock at the appalling idea.

"Virgo!" Capricorns yells as he straightens his neck.

"Yes?" Virgo asks flatly as she appears on Laxus' other side. Laxus looks up in irritancy at her from suddenly being surrounded by a maid and a butler.

"Extend the invitation of meeting Lady Lucy's beau this evening to all of her contracted celestial beings and bring more chairs.

Horror seizes Lucy's heart at Capricorn's words. "W-wait…"

"Right away," Virgo bows to her fellow spirit and poofs back into the spirit world.

"I think we'll need a different table," Loke mentions as he cups his chin in thought.

"And more food," Aquarius adds from her spot next to the wall. "I don't want to be poisoned by _this_ _one's_ one cooking."

Lucy shoots Aquarius an insulted glare as she hears agreements form the two male spirits.

Without any warning, Capricorn and Loke quickly grab two corners of the tablecloth each and pull the sheet away from the table so all of the food, dishes, and utensils spill into the middle of the cloth. Lucy and Laxus stare slack-jawed at them from their seats in complete disbelief at the sheer audacity of ruining all of Lucy's wonderfully prepare food.

"What in the fucking hell!?" Laxus shouts out as his eyes shift from the now barren table to Loke holding all of his food in a sack over his shoulder.

A sharp yell sounds through the cloth moments before Draco slithers out of the top of the cloth and hops down onto Loke's shoulder covered in yellow broth.

"You're supposed to eat it, not wear it!" he yells as he flicks the broth off of himself.

Loke gives the little spirit a smirk before he walks into the kitchen with the bundled up ruined food and drenched dragon. Aquarius follows behind shortly afterward to make sure that he prepares the drinks correctly. Something about making the water "extra bubbly".

"W-wait a minute!" Lucy yells after them as she turns in her seat.

"Excuse me," Capricorn pardons himself as he grabs onto the square table and disappears back into the spirit world with it.

Lucy and Laxus blink in bafflement at the empty place where the food-filled table once stood moments ago.

"Uh…?" Laxus groans as his mind is still trying to catch up to what just happened.

Being the one who has is used to the sort of thing, Lucy drops her head as embarrassment and mortification heat up her face.

"Laxus, there are no words to express how sorry I am for all of this. I'll get your table back. And clean up your kitchen. And I owe you another dinner! Please forgive me," she mumbles out the last words in shame.

Laxus' heart clenches in his chest as he watches Lucy beat herself up for the circumstances that her spirits caused.

"Forget it," he waves her off while trying to keep his voice level. "It's not your fault. Shit just happens."

She hesitantly looks up at him through her eyelashes and asks, "But…what about our dinner?"

A part of her dampens in disappointment at not being able to spend the evening alone with the blonde male but she hastily stops herself from dwelling on that feeling.

He shrugs in the effort to look nonchalant as he replies, "Might as well have it with your spirits. It can't be _that_ bad. Besides, I can't really argue with them since they took my table and all of the food. They kinda owe us for that now, anyway."

As reluctant as he is to admit it, Laxus knows that if he wants any chance of having _any_ relationship beyond friendship with Lucy then he needs to be on the good side of her spirits. They are her magical lifeline and he doesn't want to cause a rift between any of them that might hurt her as a wizard. He wants to see her flourish, not diminish. So the sooner they get to know him, the better.

He could also use them as allies once he tells her about his dragon secret and she freaks the hell out.

She shoots straight up in her chair to gape at him in amazement. "W-wait! You mean you're not upset!?" she exclaims completely flabbergasted.

He frowns at her. "I wouldn't say that I'm not upset. How would you feel if some people came into your house unannounced, made dinner plans, ruined your food, and stole your dining table?" he asks with a raised eyebrow.

He wishes he could tell her that he would deal with _all_ of her spirits and their craziness if it meant that she would never look so ashamed again.

"Change stealing the table to destroying it and you just described daily dinnertime with Team Natsu," she replies almost instantly with a small cheeky smile.

He laughs at her and her smile grows wider. _That's better_ , he thinks to himself as his heart flurries in excitement as he watches her smile at him. _God, I sound like a lovesick teenager._

"I'll get the table back after the dinner is over. And I'll start on our week of dinners again tomorrow. I promise," she swears as she holds a hand over her heart.

He gives a confirming smile and nod.

The familiar magical force of Capricorn reappears moments before the tall goat man arrives with a long dining table over the top of his head. He places the table diagonally so it would fit in the room. Virgo reappears with a stack of six chairs in each of her hands. Lucy helps Virgo place the chairs around the table while Loke returns as he dries his hands. Draco is on his shoulder as he towels off his nimble body with a hand towel.

Thirteen bright lights of varying sizes flash around the room as all of Lucy's spirits suddenly appear inside the room with different plates and bowls of food: Aries, Sagittarius, Cancer, Aquarius (whom left to get drinks since all of Laxus' drinks suck), Taurus, Gemini, Scorpio, Crux, Plue, Horologium, Lyra, Dorado, and Hercules.

"Mmmmiiiiiss Luuuuucy!"

"Hey baby."

"Rockin'!"

"I'm sorry!"

"Lucy!"

Each of the spirits cheers in excitement as they greet their hostess.

Lucy gains a massive sweatdrop on her head as she looks around at all of her enthusiastic friends. "We're going to need more room…" she says to no one in particular.

Abrupt and vast nervousness downpours on Laxus as he feels beads of perspiration form over his face. _Maybe, this wasn't such a good idea,_ he curses inwardly in dread as his infamous awkwardness kicks into high gear.

Capricorn instructs everyone to lay out the food and to take a seat around the table with Lucy and Laxus at the ends. Draco and Plue find spots on the table due to them being small enough, Horologium sits on the ground due to his height and flat butt, Crux hovers in the air above the table, and everyone else finds an available seat.

Whole chickens and pork shoulders are laid in the middle with side dishes of fruit salad, shrimp kabobs, sautéed asparagus, wild rice, and many other dishes around them. Wine and liquor are poured into glasses and food stacked on each plate.

Laxus and Lucy stare completely dumbfounded at the feast before them. They really go all out, don't they?

"So Laxus," Loke whispers smoothly as he leans close to the man with a lecherous grin, "are Lucy's lips really as soft as they look?"

Laxus snaps out of his food induced trance to glare at the orange-haired man on his left. "That's none of your business and don't think I won't punch you if you keep asking shit like that," he growls out in a threat.

Laxus really isn't kidding. He will punch the Loke to the other side of Magnolia, find his sorry celestial ass, and snap the playboy's neck like a twig all in the name of personal satisfaction.

Loke backs away and holds his hands up in surrender. "Fine, fine, hog all of the good stuff."

"Loke," Lucy warns from the other end of the table as she gives the lion spirit a warning death glare.

The orange haired male looks up and gives her a smooth grin. She hums in suspicion before returning back to her previous conversation with Crux and Horologium. No other spirit pays the minor threat any attention as they are so wrapped up in their own conversations.

Laxus sighs to gain Loke's attention once more, "Look, it was just an accident. We're not together."

Loke's eyes light up as he spins his head around in hopeful shock. "Really?" he asks in a voice barely above a whisper.

"I'm sorry for interrupting but that isn't what Aquarius said," Aries interjects shyly from Laxus' other side as she cuts into her ham.

"Well, the mermaid is wrong," he states matter-of-factly as he directs his attention towards her.

Hearing someone talk about her, Aquarius sends a quick death glare at the blonde male when her beloved Scorpio is not looking.

A deep red blush covers Aries' cheeks as she ducks her head. "It's just…I'm so happy that she found someone who would be so nice to her. I'm sorry," she mumbles out.

Laxus raises an eyebrow at her in confusion. "Huh?"

"D-Draco told us about what you did," she says without lifting her head. Aries takes a deep breath before looking up with bright cheeks and giving Laxus a soft smile. "That was so sweet of you and she deserves someone who would do such a thing for her. I'm sorry that was so forward!" she cries the last sentence as she covers her face with her hands in embarrassment.

Laxus blinks in surprise as the lion sprit calms the ram spirit down.

"It really wasn't anything special," Laxus admits somewhat bashfully as he looks pointedly away. "They weren't being treated right and she really wanted them so I just did what any decent person would have done."

"But that's just it," Loke stops him with an appreciative smile. "Most people wouldn't have done that. They don't understand that we have feelings as well. That's why it's special. Not to mention the sheer amount that you paid. Draco, Hercules, and Dorado are immensely grateful that you came along. We all are."

Aries nods her head in agreement as she timidly smiles at her fellow celestial spirit. Laxus looks between the two of them with wide eyes a few times before dropping his eyes to his plate. A small smile spreads over Laxus' lips at the genuine thankfulness of the two grateful beings.

Laxus looks straight ahead to see Lucy laughing at the dancing duo of Plue and Draco as they do some messed up kind of cha-cha. Warmth, calmness, satisfaction, and happiness fill his chest at the wondrous sight of her laughing with her friends surrounding her.

 _Maybe…this night won't be so bad…_ he thinks internally moments before Scorpio asks him to put on some of his rock music that Lucy can't stop talking about.

The rest of the evening progresses pleasantly. All of Lucy's spirits sit around the long dining table chatting and asking Laxus different questions. Laxus tries, to the best of his abilities, to be open and honest with the spirits but find some questions a bit too personal for his liking. Lucy sits at the other end of the table and watches over the whole display with a wide, appreciative smile.

And every time Lucy and Laxus would look the other—unbeknownst to the other—their hearts would melt in happiness.

* * *

After the impromptu dinner Laxus brings Lucy to Fairy Hills. They make plans about their dinner the next evening and bid each other good night.

Lucy goes to Erza's room to take a quick bath. Afterwards, she changes into comfortable sleeping clothes and heads down to the basement where Erza said she put her belongings. In the basement, Lucy finds all of her belongings placed throughout one side of the room. She flicks on the overhead light and begins to search for her book collection.

Half an hour ticks by before Lucy looks inside a crate and finds most of her books. She carefully maneuvers each book aside as she looks for a particular one. With an exclamation of success she pulls out the book titled _Love Poem Collection_ by Edgar Allen Poe. She puts everything back and seals the box before leaving the basement and heading back upstairs.

Once she arrives by in Erza's room, she takes a seat at the solitary, partially undamaged desk as she tries to work on her novel. The book of poems lies next to her as she attempts to force herself to write.

Tries, but fails miserably.

Instead of setting the tone of a haunted mansion, Lucy's thoughts continually turn to the conversation that transpired over dinner and all of the fluttering emotions that she felt when she looked at Laxus. With a muffled groan she tips her head back to look at the ceiling.

 _I can't work like this,_ she admits to herself. _Why did everyone have to come and butt in? Everything was fine up until they got there. Now I just feel confused about, well, everything. I would probably feel a lot better if I talked to somebody. But who? Erza's gone, Wendy's not old enough and gone, Levy's most likely asleep, Cana's probably drunk, Mira's probably exhausted from working all day, and I don't know where Lisanna is. So who would I talk to about Laxus?_

Thinking of the blonde male's name and her need for advice rings a bell. She pulls out a small silver key and turns toward her bed.

"Open, Gate of the Dragon! Draco!"

The key starts to deteriorate and she quickly throws it on the bed. Smoke rolls over the cover before a small red dragon pops up in the middle of the swirls.

"Well…long time…no see," Draco coughs as he bats the smoke away with a clawed hand.

"Yeah, long time no see," Lucy smiles warmly at her little spirit.

"So, what's up?" he asks as he walks up to the edge of the bed with his hands on his hips.

Lucy's face drops into one of thought as she carefully regards the small dragon. "I…I wanted to say that what you said earlier was really amazing," she says with a small voice.

A wide proud smile spreads across Draco's face. "Well, I can have my moments. I am the Wise Draco, after all."

"R-right," she mumbles as she nervously messes the hem of her shirt.

"Although, you don't have to worry," he chuckles as he points at her with a clawed finger. "I know that Aquarius is wrong about you two dating."

Lucy perks up as she blinks at him in surprise. "Really? How?"

"Wise Draco knows all," he says cryptically as he wiggles his clawed fingers like he's casting a mystical spell.

"Riiiiight…Anyway," Lucy sweatdrops as she decides to change the subject, "I was kinda hoping to talk to you since I don't really have anyone else to talk to right now. Is that okay?"

"Okay!" he says joyously as he throws himself down on the edge of her bed, crosses his skinny little legs, and pulls out a notepad and pencil from behind his back.

"What has been bothering you?" he asks with forced sophistication so he sounds like a psychiatrist diagnosing a patient.

Lucy frowns and deadpans at him before sighing in resignation.

"Well…I'm not quite sure, actually." she admits sheepishly. "I just feel really confused and I'm not sure what to think about it."

"Confused about what, exactly?" Draco asks as he scribbles something down on his notepad.

"Laxus," she sighs again.

Draco turns his head and raises an inquisitive eyebrow at her.

"What about him?" he asks curiously.

A small unintentional blush grows over Lucy's cheeks as says, "How I feel about him, I guess."

"What!?" Draco yells as his ears and tail poke straight and jumps up in shock. "You mean that you actually have the hots for Lightning Boy!?" he questions as he points the end of his pencil at her.

Lucy's face turns bright red and feverishly shakes her head. "What!? No! No! T-that's not what I was saying!"

"Weeeeelllll, that's what it _sounded_ like," he replies saucily as he rolls his eyes and head at her.

"Well, it wasn't!" she declares stubbornly.

"Sure, sure, and that book of love poems is for when you go read to the blind," he retorts with sass dripping from his tongue as he puts the back of his hands on his hips.

Lucy's eyes widen a margin as she spins her head between her spirit and the book. "It-It isn't what you think!" she denies as she points toward the book.

Draco frowns at her in disbelief.

"It isn't!" she continues diligently. "We were talking about Edgar Allen Poe and I mentioned how he wrote those love poems and Laxus didn't believe me so I said that I would bring them to prove it!" she states in a rushed and frantic voice.

"Uh huh," Draco drawls skeptically.

"It's true," Lucy insists as she crosses her arms in defiance.

"Okay, okay," Draco holds his hands up as he throws the notepad and pencil away. "If you don't like him, then why are so confused?"

Lucy shifts her eyes over to the little dragon before heaving a heavy sigh. "I…I don't know, exactly. After your little speech earlier, I felt weird when I looked at Laxus and now I can't concentrate on anything because that's all I can think about."

"Felt weird how?"

"Like…" Lucy pauses as she tries to find the right words. "Like there were butterflies in my stomach and my whole body felt like it was going to melt. It was really overwhelming."

"Mmhmm," Draco hums as he looks at her studiously before asking, "How do you normally feel about Lightning Boy?"

The questions surprises Lucy but she quickly realizes that it shouldn't. It's a logical question to ask when someone complains that they don't feel normal.

"Well…" she pauses once more as she has to find the right words again.

"I think he's cool," she says after a few minutes. "I know he can seem really jerkish, brutish, and aloof a lot but that's just a big cover up for his awkwardness and shyness. Deep down, he's really caring and loving towards everyone he cherishes. He just doesn't know how to share that side of himself with people he's not familiar with.

"He also likes some of the same things as I do so I like talking to him and spending my time sharing those things with him. We have a really fun time together. But he also understands that we don't always like the same things and respects my feelings towards my other interests. That's one of the main reasons that we never get on each other's nerves too much. I appreciate those qualities of his since most of my other friends don't quite get that concept all the time. I mean, I love my Fairy Tail family but he's just…different. I feel like I can be myself around him without worrying about him criticizing or judging me."

"Do you think he looks nice?" Draco adds quickly.

"Well, yeah," Lucy answers without thinking. "How can a girl not find him handsome? He's tall and well-built and has strong masculine features and—wait a minute! That has nothing to do with this!" she yells in fury as she turns of her sneaky spirit.

Draco crosses his arms and shakes his head innocently. "I just want the full story."

Lucy huffs in irritation and embarrassment and crosses her arms. "Well that's it," she finishes with a glare.

Draco strokes his chin in thought as he walks up and down the bed. As he arrives back at the head of the bed, he turns toward Lucy with a raised eyebrow and asks, "Why do you feel that way?"

Lucy cocks her head to the side in confusion. "What do you mean?"

Draco facepalms and drags his hand down his face.

"I mean," he says slowly, "how did you come to feel that way? I'm pretty sure you didn't just wake up one morning and think 'Oh! I think I'll just go hanging out with Lightning Boy today! That sounds like fun!'" he mocks in a higher pitched voice.

Lucy's eyebrow twitches in irritation as thoughts of sending the pesky little dragon packing run through her mind. Heaving an internal sigh, she realizes that the only one to blame for this is her since talking to Draco was her bright idea in the first place.

"We really only became good friends about a month ago when he helped me out with Natsu," Lucy explains. "We learned that we like the same music so I guess that was our first big connection. He helped me after that by taking me on that job with the artifacts so I can pay my rent and topped it off by buying your guys' keys for me. Then he saved me from his crazed team that was only trying to protect him and we went on another mission. We started talking more and I learned so much about him. That's when I found out that he's actually very reasonable and open when he's comfortable with somebody. We got back and I went to the LARPing festival while he went to hunt down a jail escapee. Then he found me and we…"

Heat rises to her cheeks as she recalls the brief moment where their lips connected. That fluttering feeling awakens once more in her stomach and her entire body warm to a blazing temperature. Without thought she reaches up and delicately places her fingertips to her lips as she feels the memory of his lips.

A part of her feels ashamed for remembering such a thing but no matter how regretful she feels, she cannot forget what happened. They agreed to forget that it happened but she just can't. It's like her body refuses to let her forget how warm his lips felt or how tightly he held her in her arms or how wonderful he tasted. Her heart starts to pound out of control as a blush blooms on her cheeks every time that she thinks about it.

That moment haunts her thoughts and excites her to no end. A memory she wishes to forget but refuses to let go of willingly.

"And we…" Draco leads her expectantly as he waves his hand for her to continue.

Lucy jolts out of her thoughts to stare open mouthed at her spirit. She turns her head away as the blush grows to her ears from embarrassment at spacing out.

"We kissed," she whispers as if it's scandalous to say.

"Mmhmm," Draco hums to reassure her that he is _very_ well aware of that occurrence. God knows, Aquarius didn't stop talking about it for _hours_.

Lucy shakes her head and timidly faces her spirit again to finish, "And then we came back here and that's when you guys had dinner with us."

"I see," he drawls as he nods his head sagely. "Just as I thought."

"What?" she asks reluctantly. Why does she have a feeling that she's not going to like this?

"Sounds to me like you love him," Draco says cheekily and with a knowing grin.

Lucy's whole face drops as her skin turns a shade of red that is solely reserved for the ripest tomatoes from the reddest dirt.

"W-why w-would y-y-you sa-say t-that?" she stammers as she tries to breath past the constriction in her throat.

"Well, let's look at the facts," he says as he leans his elbow on Erza's headboard and crosses one foot over the other.

"First, you find him attractive." Lucy gives him a glare for tricking her into admitting that but he pays her no attention. "So you got the physical part going for you. You also enjoy spending time with him and you can 'be yourself' with him. So there's the emotional part. You also hold good conversations and he keeps your mind interested. That's the mental part. So here's the recap: you like him physically, emotionally, and mentally and he treats you with respect. That sounds like love to me."

"Well it's not," Lucy states defiantly as she reobtains the strength in her voice.

"Oh yeah?" Draco challenges. "Gimme one good reason."

"Because I don't see him in that kind of light. I would know if I loved Laxus."

"How?"

"Because I would feel it in my heart if I did!" she claims as she slaps a hand over her chest.

"And what does your heart tell you?" Draco asks with a raised eyebrow.

"It…" she trails off as her heart explodes into a thousand emotions. No singular emotion appears and she can't seem to make sense out of anything. The abrupt flood of emotions overwhelms her and brings her to the brink of tears.

She looks down at her lap in frustrated misery and whimpers, "I guess I don't. I don't know what my heart wants. It's all so confusing."

Draco gives her a sympathetic look as he crawls over to her desk so he can be closer to her face.

"Look," Draco says as he holds her cheeks with his hands to make him look at her, "I'm not saying that you don't understand your own heart. No one knows that better than you, okay?"

A sniffle escapes Lucy as she wraps her spirit in a hug. "Thanks Draco."

"Anytime, baby girl," he comforts her as he returns the gesture.

The hug ends after a few minutes and Lucy wipes a stray tear away.

"So what should I do?" she asks with a perplexed frown.

Draco smiles up at her and says, "Try to figure out how you feel about him. I know it's really confusing right now but you'll figure it out. Consider all of your possibilities. Don't throw away the idea that Lightning Boy means more to you than just a friend yet. It's not unheard of for a friendship to bloom into a relationship. Honestly, I think you guys would make a great couple."

"You're only saying that because if we do become a couple, that would make you right," Lucy says as she laughs at the dragon.

"Hey now, everyone's got their reasons," he points his finger knowingly at her. "Just try to work through it and get some sleep. You'll know what's best for you."

Smoke envelopes his body as his key reappears on the desk. Lucy sighs heavily as she puts the key back on her key ring and climbs into Erza's bed.

Thoughts warp her mind as everything that has transpired over the whole evening sinks into her brain. Loke's appearance and accusing statements, Draco's speech, Laxus' understanding, having dinner with everyone, feeling confused, and the long talk with Draco all replay clearly in her mind's eye.

"Could Draco be right? Could I love Laxus?" she wonders aloud to herself.

Her heart and head spin wildly as if it's caught in a whirlwind of emotion as excitement, fear, happiness, and nervousness are thrown at her from every angle. Her lips remember his and a spike of arousal shoots through her as she begins to imagine how the rest of his body would feel pressed against hers.

A part of her is despondent and refuses to believe that she has anything remotely resembling romantic feelings toward the man while the other is hopeful and considers the idea.

Warmth and contentment floods her system as thoughts of her and Laxus holding hands and walking through town together run through her mind. Hanging out at his house and cuddling on the couch as they listen to music…having dinner together at the guild…going on jobs together…that little blonde baby that calls her mama…

 _But what if he doesn't feel the same?_ the cynical side of her states inside her head.

Panic blooms in her mind and heart when imagery of the potential ruin of their friendship are conjured within her mind. Pictures of him refusing to speak to her because he is avoiding her, the Thunder Legion blocking her path if she gets too close to him, and him moving to a new house so she doesn't know his address are things she imagines.

Those thoughts terrify her.

She doesn't want to lose Laxus. She doesn't want to lose their friendship.

…

Maybe, she's thinking too far into this? The experiences they shared are not that special. She's had almost the exact same type of relationship with Natsu so why would Laxus be any different? All they've really shared is a love for rock music and a few good stories. That's friends' territory, not boyfriend territory.

Yeah, of course!

 _Draco's wrong. I don't love Laxus, we're just good friends. Friends can hang out and do things together. Plus, he's my guildmate so of course he'll look out for me. That's what family does for one another. There's nothing to worry about. Everything has just been blown way out of proportion. Everything will go back to normal really soon and we can go one with our normal lives._

Lucy nervously laughs to herself as she thinks how silly she sounded for even entertaining the idea of her and Laxus together, the conflict in her mind simmering to a bubble.

Yet, as the laughter dies down to a few uncertain snickers, Lucy can feel her conscious speak to her.

It says that Draco made valid points and that she can't deny what her heart is telling her; that there is a small part of her that wishes for something more with the lightning dragon slayer.

All of that turmoil from earlier arises once more in her soul as her mind, body, and soul argue and fight over the true meaning of her emotions.

Lucy groans as tries to push all thoughts of Laxus out her mind and she turns over in Erza's bed. She needs some sleep so she can concentrate on cooking for Laxus tomorrow and she won't be able to do that if her mind is running at lightning speeds and fighting amongst itself.

 _Why does this always happen to me…?_

 **Was it okay? I wanted to convey how Laxus' emotional state shifted as he finally stopped denying what was so obvious to everyone, including himself. He just needed a little push.**

 **On the other hand, Lucy is just now beginning to realize her own feelings but she still has doubts. I hope this chapter elevates some frustration that I know I dealt out with the previous chapters.**

 **Feel free to leave me a review!**


	22. Chapter 22

**I am so, so sorry about how long this has taken to write and post. I have had major writer's block and couldn't force myself to write anything for long periods of time. This is honestly the best chapter I could make and it's rather flat, in my opinion. Please don't hate me. The next chapter should have more humor and be more exciting.  
**

 **I hope.**

 **Please review and have a great day!**

 **Hiro Mashima owns Fairy Tail and all corresponding characters. I only own the extra characters and plot.**

The next week passes by peacefully for Lucy and Laxus.

Fred the renovator came by the first day and scoped out everything that needed to be done. Unsurprisingly, the damages were vast and plentiful but it is nothing the red-headed man couldn't handle. Fred told Laxus that he will begin working on the house right after he is finished with Lucy's apartment.

The news irritated Laxus but he would rather Lucy have her place fixed before his own.

The things you do for love…

The good news was that Laxus wouldn't have to find other living quarters since Fred could work around him being there. So he guesses that counts for something.

Lucy still felt guilty over the whole movie watching business so she asked Laki to temporarily cover up the holes on the outside his house until Fred got around to it. Surprisingly enough, Laki did a pretty good job. It was no masterpiece but it would allow Laxus to live comfortably until the house is fully renovated.

Lucy gathered some of her belongings after the night she spent at Fairy Hills and stayed at Laxus' house for the rest of the week. Every day she would wake up, cook breakfast for both of them, go look at his music collection with him telling her interesting stories about the bands, make lunch for them, look through his music some more, go to town for ingredients with him, cook dinner, listen to music one more time, and go to bed. Occasionally she would read some of the love poems to the reluctant Laxus.

It was one of the happiest weeks that either of them has ever experienced.

Lucy laughed, smiled, and joked as if there was nothing wrong with the world. With each passing day, she would feel her heart speed up and her stomach do flips more often when she would see Laxus enjoying himself. By the end of the week, she couldn't help but blush every time he laughs.

While she is still convinced that she is just happy that they're such good friends, she can't stop the small, bashful smiles from spreading over lips every time she thinks of the man.

During the day, Laxus felt his heart float in happiness from spending time with the woman he loves. Even though he had a splitting headache and felt so goddamn nervous most of the time, he tried his best to appear indifferent—not an easy feat.

They did practically everything together and there wasn't a part of him that wanted to be separated from the blonde woman for a moment; contrary to his loner lifestyle that he had previously but he didn't care. He just wanted to spend as much alone time with her as possible before their teams came back and the dinner deal was over.

Yet at night, he discovered that his love revelation had put him in a tough situation. He would toss and turn as he would think about how to proceed with his newfound feelings.

As far as he knows—which is based on stories of everyone else's love lives rather than his own experience—once you love someone then you should tell them how you feel and hopefully, you can start dating.

But he doesn't have the faintest, fucking clue about how to tell Lucy that he loves her.

In fact, the very idea about revealing such a vulnerable side of himself to someone terrifies him. Better yet, to the first woman with whom he has ever fallen in love. Not to mention, that his general awkwardness and tactlessness constantly crushes his self-confidence and hopes of smooth-talking the woman.

So what is he to do?

By the end of the week, Laxus is still stumped and is having major concerns in regard to his future. He pushed his anxiety aside though when Lucy was present since he didn't want to worry her or give her a reason to think that something is wrong and force him to admit his love before he was ready because she backs him into a corner by asking too many questions.

Too quickly for either of their liking, the week is finished and all of the dinners have been cooked, thus completing Lucy's end of the deal for the three keys.

* * *

The morning after the last dinner, Lucy gets a call from Fred. The renovator tells her that her apartment is finished and that she can move back in whenever she wishes. Lucy nearly jumped for joy at the thought of putting her stuff back in her apartment but the happiness was quickly balanced out with dejection as she realized that she no longer has a valid excuse to stay with Laxus. She thanked the man and hung up the communication lacrima just as Laxus is entering the room.

"Who was that?" Laxus grunts.

"Fred. He was calling to let me know that my apartment is finished," Lucy sighs heavily.

Laxus face drops at the news but he quickly masks his apparent sadness with a neutral frown.

"You gonna move your things?" he asks, trying to sound casual.

"I guess so," Lucy sighs again as she crosses her arms under her chest. "I think it'll be better if I move everything sooner rather than later; otherwise Erza might help and something will probably get broken."

"Today then?" he huffs.

Lucy nods with a pouty frown.

"Want any help?"

Her frown disappears as she gives him a grateful smile.

"Yeah, that would be great," she perks up as her heart skips a beat in happiness at the sweet gesture.

Lucy retreats to her room to dress in a pair of shorts and a tank top. No point in dressing up if she's going to be trudging all of her things across town, after all. She leaves her other belongings in her room since she'll come get them after everything has been moved.

Fifteen minutes later, she arrives downstairs to find Laxus eating some leftovers while dressed in a black t-shirt and brown cargo pants. A light blush spreads over her cheeks as the shirt accents all of his well-built muscles perfectly.

"You ready?" his gruff voice cuts through her subtle ogling as he raises a curious eyebrow at her.

"Yep," Lucy nods hurriedly and spins around toward the front door in order to hide her blush.

Laxus puts his plate in the sink and follows the busty woman out the door. They walk from the East Forest across town to Fairy hills. Lucy sings the melody to several old rock songs as she walks while Laxus peacefully listens beside her.

Eventually, they reach the girl's residence hall. Lucy leads Laxus through the grounds before walking inside the building.

"What's wrong?" Lucy asks as she glances up at the dragon slayer and sees his eyes roaming around the hallway.

His eyes flick downward at her before focusing back in front of him.

"I've never been in here," he replies frankly. "Thought it would be more…extravagant."

"Why would you think that?" Lucy asks curiously as she cocks her head at him.

"With the way the other girls talk about it, you would think this place it made out of gold," he states with an annoyed scowl.

Lucy gives him a skeptical look before giggling and shaking her head at him. A few minutes later, she leads him down to the basement where all of her belongings are held. Looking at everything as a whole, Lucy is baffled at how exactly Erza packed everything onto her cart and transported it all in one go. Heaving a resigned sigh, Lucy picks up a random box.

"Let's get started," she grunts with a small frown.

Laxus picks up two bigger boxes and follows her up the basement steps. They head towards the center of town to Lucy's apartment. Once they reach the two story building, Lucy carefully balances the box on her hip while she pulls out her apartment key. The two blondes trudge up the stairs to find her apartment door unlocked. Lucy fully swings the door open and smiles.

"It looks great!" she exclaims excitedly as she looks around.

The wall, door, and ceiling have been completely rebuilt to look new. Even some of the decorative aspects are lined up so everything flows together like the original designs.

"Well, Fred is the best in the business," Laxus replies with a smirk as he lays the boxes down on the ground.

"I can see why. Thanks again for paying for all of this," Lucy says cheerfully and graciously as she sets her boxes next to his.

Laxus grunts in acceptance before turning for the door. Lucy follows him out as they head back to Fairy Hills.

The rest of the day proceeds in much of the same way. Lucy decides that she is going to have Virgo help her move the heavier items, mainly the bed frame and dresser, in order to speed up the process.

Halfway through the day, Lucy and Laxus are walking along Strawberry Street with boxes in hand.

"Laxus! Lucy!" two female voices call out to them.

Both of the blondes see their respective teams walking toward them. A wide smile spreads over Lucy's face at seeing all of her friends…except three.

"Hey guys!" Lucy exclaims cheerfully before she frowns in thought. "Where's Natsu, Happy, and Damus?"

Team Natsu and the Thunder Legion simultaneously hum in confusion before looking over their shoulders.

"Huh, that's weird. They were here just a moment ago," Wendy says as she looks around at her surroundings in hope of finding the fire dragon slayer, summoner, and exceed.

"Yeah, Natsu was just complaining about starving to death," Gray adds as he looks at the rooftops as if Natsu—for some odd reason—will magically appear up there.

"Maybe they left to finish off a buffet," Bickslow chuckles as his tongue lolls out.

"That is a highly probable," Freed agrees with a nod.

Erza, Gray, and Wendy hum in thought before they accept the idea. Lucy continues to frown in concern but pushes it aside. Natsu is a bottomless pit, after all.

"How was the festival?" she asks to change the subject.

Gray groans in exasperation as he shifts his eyes to the side while Wendy nervously laughs and Carla scoffs. An annoyed deadpan forms on Ever's face, Bickslow grins wildly, and Freed cringes with a dark cloud over his head.

"It was magnificent!" Erza declares proudly as she lays her hands on her hips and her eyes sparkle.

"It was atrocious," Freed whines as he shakes his head.

Erza turns on the green-haired man with a concerned expression and asks, "Are you still upset about the Cowboys and Indians section?"

Freed gives Erza a cold glare while Bickslow busts out laughing so hard that he bends over and Evergreen scoffs behind her hand. Wendy and Gray duck their heads in mortification. Erza just shakes her head, completely unperturbed.

Lucy and Laxus grow confused by the weird statement and everyone's reactions.

"I swear I didn't know that Fallopian was a courtesan, otherwise I would have never suggested you for the part," Erza states sincerely.

Lucy and Laxus' eyes pop open in surprise as Freed's face turns red from embarrassment.

"It is unforgivable" he grumbles as his shoulder begins to shake.

"Ah, come on! Everyone said that you the prettiest one there once they saw you in that corset and pink dress!" Bickslow tells him as he throws one arm around his leader's shoulder.

Freed spins his head around and gapes in horror at his friend. Lucy and Laxus feels their jaws drop in disbelief and disturbance as an image of Freed in a corset and dress conjures within their minds.

Well, now they know what will be in their nightmares tonight…

"At least I didn't have to wear a mere loincloth!" Freed screeches at Bickslow in hopes of embarrassing the man as much as he feels

Bickslow merely laughs and pokes Freed in cheek as he says, "That's what the Indians wore! Besides, I bet you would have preferred the loin cloth to the petticoat!"

Freed bristles at the comeback and threatens Bickslow if he doesn't shut up. Bickslow chortles at the man and asks if his heels were comfortable. Letting his anger get the better of him, Freed yells and unsheathes his sword to swing it at his teammate. Bickslow easily dodges it and continues to make snide jokes while laughing.

Freed chases after Bickslow with his withdrawn sword around the road in circles. Evergreen, having had enough of her male teammates, screams at the two idiots to act like their age. Both Freed and Bickslow ignore her and continue to run around in circles. After a minute, Bickslow make a sharp turn and begins to run down the road away from the group. Freed gives chase with Evergreen not far behind.

"Oh god, how embarrassing," Gray mumbles as he slaps a hand to his face.

"I wonder why he played the part if he was so upset," Erza wonders to herself as she cups her cheeks and watches Freed chase Bickslow down the road while Evergreen yells at them to grow up.

Wendy and Carla share an exasperated look while Gray shakes his head at the red-haired knight. How she can be so oblivious is beyond them.

"I think, maybe, we should just head to the guild," Carla suggests.

"No kidding," Gray agrees.

"Y-Yeah," Wendy mumbles.

The ice wizard turns back to the dumbfounded Lucy and asks, "Are you coming to the guild too?"

"U-um…maybe later?" she replies, still stunned from the previous display and mental images.

"Good, then we will see you there," Erza smiles lightly at Lucy and Laxus before waving at Gray, Wendy, and Carla to follow her.

The small group passes the two dumbstruck blondes. Lucy and Laxus are left in the middle of the street completely confused and flabbergasted about the weird scenario that just transpired.

"Hey, Laxus," Lucy says quietly as she looks up at him.

"What?" he replies as she looks down at her.

"I'm glad we left early."

"Me too," Laxus says slowly with a sigh. "Me too…"

* * *

Later that night, Laxus is sitting alone in his home sulking.

He helped Lucy move all of her belongings throughout the day. Things were quiet between them most of the remaining time because she seemed far off in thought. He didn't ask or bother her about details. If she wanted to tell him then she would have. By the end, she was tired and wanted to turn in early for the night. She bid him goodnight, he went and paid Fred in advance for all of the construction that will be start on his house tomorrow, and returned home.

Now that he is alone, Laxus realizes how empty and quiet his house has become. No more laughter, or long-winded talks, or movie playing in the background, or clinking pots and pans. Just silence and emptiness.

Never has he ever felt so lonely and missed Lucy so much.

He already wants to see her again. Hell, they don't even have to do anything; he just wants to be near her. She could work on her novel while he lies on the couch and he'll be satisfied. Or they could go out and get something to eat or walk around town. Anything to be with her again.

He just…misses her. He misses her smile, and laughter, and how she smells, and the small hums she makes while she is thinking, and how her nose crinkles she sees something gross, and the way her eyes sparkle with life and happiness, and…and…

Laxus heaves an exhausted sigh and leans his head back against the armchair headrest in exasperation.

When did he become such a lovey-dovey sap? He saw her less than an hour ago and he sounds like he hasn't laid eyes on her in ten years.

The sharp ring of the doorbell echoes through the house.

Laxus pulls his head up with a deep hum. With a groan, he heaves himself out of his armchair and treads toward the front door. The Thunder Legion greets him as the door swings open. Laxus steps aside to let them in and escorts them to the living room. They look around at the improvised improvements and deeply cringe.

"I kinda forgot how badly your house is screwed up," Bickslow mumbles to himself.

"I already hired a renovator," Laxus states as he sits down in his chair. "He starts tomorrow."

"Excellent," Freed replies in relief. "How much will the repairs cost?"

"The total is estimated to be around eight-hundred thousand. You figure it out."

"Of course. I shall let the others know as well," Freed tells him.

"So how ya been?" Bickslow asks as he plops down on the couch (which Laxus had to pull out of the backyard after the destructive movie night). Freed and Ever join their teammate.

All of the happiness and uncertainty from the past days and nights flood Laxus' mind and heart. Unsure about how to answer the question without seeming too vulnerable, Laxus merely shrugs his massive shoulders indifferently.

"Aww, don't give us that," Bickslow chides playfully. "Tell us what's eating you."

Laxus briefly looks over his team. A sigh passes from his lips as he looks down at the floor in question.

A part of him wants to ask his closest friends for dating advice while the other part of him is too embarrassed to ask about such a private matter. He has never been one for letting anyone in on his personal life so it's no surprise that he would be hesitant. But on the other hand, he could figure out how to move forward from this whole love situation. He won't have to be confused and frustrated anymore. He could…he could finally have a girlfriend. But how to ask? How to make it seem like he didn't want any advice? To make it seem like he wasn't the one who is uncertain. Maybe…Maybe he could stay anonymous about the whole situation? Not mention his name or somethin-

"Laxus?" Ever interjects his thoughts.

Laxus' eyes remain on the floor and he doesn't answer.

"You know you can tell us whatever's bothering you, right?" Bickslow adds.

His frown deepens as he shifts his skeptic eyes toward his team.

"Laxus, as your team we are here for anything that you are going through. We want to help in any way can," Freed assures him calmly.

Laxus watches the three in contemplating silence for several minutes before dropping his eyes back to the floor. A resigned sigh slips through his lips as he scratches at the back of his neck in embarrassment.

"I have a hypothetical question," he says reluctantly and without looking at them. A blush threatens to form on his cheeks but he wills the heat away.

"How would… _someone_ …tell another person that they love them?"

His eyes drift up to his team to see their wide eyes with barely contained glints of hope and jaws slightly dropped. Moments later, the Thunder Legion quickly composes their selves with forced seriousness.

"Is this _someone_ a man or a woman?" Ever begins this little game as she looks at him expectantly.

Laxus narrows his eyes in frustration as he realizes what he started but decides that since the question has already been asked, he can't back out now.

"A man," he grumbles quietly.

"Is the guy in love with a woman?" Bickslow adds to Ever's question.

"Yes."

Freed clears his throat. "Is this man a friend of this woman?"

Laxus nods.

"Is this woman currently involved with anyone?"

Laxus shakes his head.

"And the man is positive that he is in love with her? It's not a kind of shallow fascination or admiration?"

Another nod.

Freed nods his head in thought and quickly glances at his teammates out of the corner of his eyes.

"Then what is stopping this man from simply confessing? Surely, he must have a reason for not telling her directly," Ever asks with genuine curiosity.

Embarrassment crosses Laxus' face as he drops his eyes back to the floor. That blush he fought down now fully erupts on his cheeks. He turns his head away to hide the redness in his face from his teammates.

 _Fuck, this is embarrassing._

"He doesn't know how to tell her, exactly. Or if he even should tell her," he mumbles quietly.

"Why wouldn't he tell her?" Bickslow interjects in surprise.

"Because he doesn't know if she…" Laxus pauses to consider his words, "…sees him as more than a friend."

"Why would he think that?" Bickslow asks as he crosses his arms.

Laxus rolls his shoulders as if that will lessen the tension in his muscles. He takes a deep breath through his nose and raises his face to look at his team with a serious expression.

"She has never said or done anything that suggests that she feels that way," he tells them as his heart slightly aches at the thought of his love being one-sided.

"Well, I doubt she'll would just come right out and say it," Bickslow says with a shrug. "Chicks tend to like the whole the-guy-says-it-first thing."

Evergreen elbows Bickslow in side and he glares at her in retaliation.

"What he means is," Ever states as her eyebrow twitches in irritation, "that she is probably just waiting to make sure that he gives her a sign that he also returns her feelings."

"That is possible," Freed agrees as he crosses his arms and gives Laxus a calculating look. "How does the woman act around the man?"

Laxus frowns and furrows his eyebrows in thought.

"She seems happy," he answers honestly. "She doesn't seem stressed or worried. Just happy."

Silence engulfs the small group. After a few moments, the Thunder Legion looks expectantly at their leader.

"That's it?" Ever asks sarcastically with a skeptically raised eyebrow.

Laxus scowls and scratches the back of his neck in apprehension.

"I mean, she smiles and laughs a lot. That must mean that she's happy, right? They like to talk about a bunch of stuff and it's not boring like most shit; that seems to make her happy. They also spend a lot of time together and they don't annoy one another so that's good. He feels comfortable around her and she acts like she's comfortable too."

"Then there ya go," Bickslow drawls with a shrug. "Seems like they have a good thing going to me."

"Yeah, but…" Laxus frowns and shakes his head in frustration before hurriedly saying, "None of that proves anything. All because she smiles all the time and we talk about a lot of shit doesn't mean that she has deeper feelings for me. Lucy isn't the kind of woman—"

Laxus freezes in panic as he realizes that he let his cover slip. Three wide knowing grins spread over Freed, Bickslow, and Ever's faces.

"Laxus…" Ever says slowly as she smiles mischievously at the lightning dragon slayer.

Embarrassment and humiliation floods Laxus' system as he quickly looks pointedly away with a blush on his cheeks. _So much for keeping it anonymous,_ he chides himself.

"Shut it," he huffs out indignantly.

Ever smirks, Bickslow grins, and Freed chuckles at the man.

"Our purpose has always been and always will be to help you, Laxus. Be it in battle or through life challenges, we will always follow you," Freed tells him as a form of encouragement.

Freed's words slightly lift Laxus' heavily embarrassed heart.

 _Maybe I'm being too defensive over this?_ he thinks to himself. _These guys are my friends, after all. They would have gone through hell and back for me. There is no one else in this world that I trust more than these three._

Laxus sighs deeply, still unable to look at them.

"So what do I do?" he mumbles awkwardly.

"You could just confess. With everything you described, it sounds like she will probably return your feelings," Ever says with great confidence.

Laxus turns his head to scowl at the female.

" _Probably_? And what if she doesn't? What if she outright rejects me?" he demands.

Ever scowls in skeptical disbelief at the man.

"Then ask her out," Bickslow interjects. "It'll give you guys a better starting point and it's way less pressure than telling her you love her."

Now Laxus scowls at the seith mage.

"I can't do that," he denies. "That's practically telling her that I want to be with her."

The Thunder Legion all deadpan.

"So, in essence," Freed says slowly, "you want to be with her, but you don't want her to know that you want to be with her. You do realize those contradict each other?"

Laxus frowns before opening and shutting his mouth in argument. His shoulders and head slump in dejection as he runs a hand down his face.

"I fucking suck at this."

"Yeah, kinda," Bickslow agrees without thinking and earns a smack from Ever.

"This sort of occurrence is irregular for you, Laxus. It's not strange that you are uncertain about how to proceed. You only have to find a medium between the two extremes," Freed consoles his leader.

"I just don't want to throw myself out there without having a clue about what will happen. There's gotta be a way to know where she stands," Laxus sighs in exasperation.

The Thunder Legion instantly perks up as a singular idea runs through all of their minds.

"We can ask her for you!" Bickslow volunteers as he happily rolls his tongue out.

"NO!" Laxus instantly yells back in horrified panic.

The Thunder Legion shrinks back in their seats with wide eyes.

"I-I mean…" Laxus mumbles awkwardly. "It's not a bad idea and all but…just don't be so fucking forward about it."

"Fair enough. But do you promise you will ask her out if we find out that she likes you too?" Evergreen asks.

Laxus has to resist sinking back in his chair out of embarrassment from feeling like an awkward love-sick teenager with friends trying to help him get together with his crush.

"Fine."

"Then let's invite her on a job!" Ever declares with a determined sparkle in her eyes.

Laxus raises his eyes to blink in bafflement at the woman.

"Yes, a more business-like setting would make our efforts seem less suspicious. The circumstances will also allow you to feel more comfortable and able to impress her, should an opportunity arise," Freed nods in thought.

"We'll also give you guys plenty of alone time together, just in case," Bickslow adds with a lecherous grin.

Laxus stares at the trio in shock.

"Really?"

"Of course!" they answer simultaneously.

Joy and shyness overwhelms Laxus. He never imagined that he would ever have such good friends and it makes him so happy that they care for him so much. He would be so lost without them.

"Thanks you guys," he whispers softly. "I owe you for this."

"We're happy to do it," Freed states confidently.

"Yeah, we want you to be happy," Ever agrees with a smile.

Bickslow nods with his teammates with a grin.

Laxus gives them a faint, gracious smile before it slightly drops.

"Listen, don't tell anyone about this. Especially not-"

"Lucy," the Thunder God Tribe finish for him in unison.

"Yeah," the blonde man sighs.

"So, we'll pick out a job tomorrow?" Bickslow asks.

Laxus takes a deep breath before shaking his head.

"Nah. Let's give it a few days. You guys just got back. She might think something's up if we leave right away."

"Good point."

"In the meantime, we'll make sure that you two spend time together," Ever tells Laxus with a meaningful wink.

* * *

The following morning, Laxus is walking along Strawberry Street with the Thunder Legion.

Bickslow had the brilliant—and hopefully inconspicuous—idea to "accidently" run into Lucy while she is on her way to the guild. Then they (Laxus, Freed, Ever, and himself) invite her to join them for breakfast somewhere in town and hang out with her for the rest of the day.

The small group made plans the previous night to spend time with Lucy as well as send her on a few errands with Laxus over the next few days so the two could spend some alone time together without raising suspicions. Laxus was initially confident with the ideas but has started to feel nervous now that he's in public. The thought of embarrassing himself in front of the woman he loves while everyone watches makes him want to hurl.

They see Lucy leaving her house just as they come within earshot.

"Hey Cosplayer!" Bickslow calls out with a wave and a grin.

Lucy jumps in surprise before whipping head around. She glances up to see the lightning dragon slayer surrounded by their guildmates before flicking her eyes away bashfully. Lucy would be lying if she hadn't missed the hulking man since last night. At moments, her heart would whine in complaint and demand that she go to him. In her head and to her internal author, it sounded so romantic and caused her heart to pound, stomach to flutter, and her head to feel light.

But it wasn't romantic because if it was then that means that she loves him and she clearly doesn't.

"Geez Bickslow, it's too early to go around scaring people," she sighs with an annoyed frowned as she places a hand over her suddenly rapidly beating heart.

Bickslow just chuckles at the blonde.

"Sorry Lucy. How is your morning so far?" Ever asks to change the subject.

"Well, if you don't include the small heart attack, it's good. Just heading to the guild," she answers with a cheerful smile. "How about you guys?"

"We're pleasant, thank you for asking," Freed smiles gently at the woman. "We are currently on our way to have some breakfast. Would you like to join us?"

"Oh, really? Well, yeah, sure. I would love to go," she smiles brightly at Freed.

"Excellent. Shall we proceed?" he asks with a held out hand behind her.

"Sure!" she replies excitedly.

Freed takes the lead with Bickslow while Lucy walks between Ever and Laxus.

Laxus looks down at the celestial mage as she talks with Evergreen with his neutral frown. He admires how beautiful she looks and feels his heart flip at the thought of doing errands with her later. It also strikes him how she doesn't seem as lost in thought as yesterday, which only serves to make him happier.

"How's the apartment?" Laxus interrupts the girls' conversation.

Lucy turns away from the other female and gives him one of her biggest smiles.

"It's perfect. Couldn't be better!"

"Good," the words coming out level despite his heart beating rapidly.

"That's right, your apartment was fixed. Did the renovator do anything special to it?" Ever asks with a brief smirk aimed toward Laxus.

Lucy turns back and smiles happily as she begins to tell them about the minute changes that she noticed.

* * *

A couple of hours later, in the East forest, Natsu is walking to the guild with his hands behind his head.

"Whatcha' thinking about Natsu?" Happy asks as he floats next to the dragon slayer's head.

Natsu groans in his throat before sighing.

"Just thinking about how much I miss Lucy," he admits with a deep frown.

It's true. He's misses his partner.

Over the past month, he has avoided Lucy like the plague. It was easy at first; he would go train for a few days and then come to the guild periodically. She took back-to-back jobs with Laxus for some weird reason but it was something that he was grateful to the blonde man for because that meant he didn't have to worry about running into her at the guild.

Everything was going according to plan. It would only be a matter of time before she would miss him so much that she would never want to be away from him and they'll be partners forever!

When Erza drug him on that LARPing trip, he was sure that his whole plan was going to go up in smoke. There was no way that they could be in close proximity and not speak to her. Luckily, he had Damus to distract her (the man has no shame) so he didn't have to say one word to her. After the festival started, it became easier once more because he could say that he needed to be on the other side of the festival and no one would think twice about it. Then the Witcher section came and they weren't even in the same camp. Then she left early and everything was a breeze after that. When they made it back to Magnolia, Happy, Damus and him slipped away before they met up with her at the guild hall.

Yet, during that entire time…he has really started to miss his partner.

It was easy at first. He just told himself that this was for the good of their friendship and he was satisfied. Then, after not speaking to her for two weeks, he started to get really lonely. He still had Happy and Damus but it wasn't the same.

Natsu misses how they could talk for hours and the jokes they share. He misses the special way that she screams at him for doing something stupid or her reactions when he teases her. He misses the smell of her house after she cooked them dinner and how comfortable her bed feels while he has a full stomach and sleepy. He misses how she complains about walking long distances or how she hums while reading the book on the train while he's sick. He misses her sweet scent and how she is always so happy. He misses her smile and the way she laughs.

Natsu just misses everything about Lucy.

"I just wish there was a way to do this without avoiding her so much," he pouts up to his exceed.

"But we already tried talking to her and doing everything for her. What else can we do?" Happy replies in a dejected voice.

"Yeah, I guess you're right," Natsu sighs as his shoulders slump.

"If it makes you feel any better, I think our plan is working. Lucy did try to talk to us during the festival so she has forgiven us for the newspaper thing, at least. I think. It's only a matter of time before she realizes how much she misses us and will want to be with us forever," the cat tries to reassure the depressed slayer.

Natsu glances upwards with a frown before straightening with a smile.

"Yeah, you're right! We just gotta keep at it and everything will turn out alright!" he cheers in confidence. He looks up at his best friend with a thankful grin. "Thanks Happy."

"Aye, sir!" the cat returns the gesture with a grin of his own before he turns thoughtful. "But while we're on the subject, what are we gonna do now? We can't just keep running away from Lucy, she's gonna get suspicious and start asking questions."

Natsu hums before dropping his head in thought and crossing his arms.

"Man, I didn't think about that. I don't know. We need a good excuse, for sure. How 'bout a long job?"

"Without Lucy? We can't do that. It's too suspicious."

"Yeah, guess so. Training?"

"We don't have enough money saved up."

"Uhhhh…Then what are we gonna do?"

Natsu and Happy continue the rest of their walk to the guild in deep thought. Which isn't that deep since it's Natsu and Happy. Every few moments each one will throw out an idea, only to be shot down by the other. By the time they reach the outside of the guild, neither have half an idea about what to do.

"Hey Natsu!"

The duo snaps out of their thoughts to see Lisanna running up to them while waving.

"Hey Lisanna!" Natsu says cheerfully and with a grin.

"I'm glad I caught you," the short white haired woman smiles sweetly at him as she comes to a stop before him. "I have a favor to ask you."

"A favor?" Natsu puts a hand on his hip.

"Yeah," she nods. "I was wondering if you can come on a job with me."

"What for?"

"Well, I accepted a job to perform for a circus as an entertainer but I need someone who can be the stand-in for the fire-breather too. And since you can _literally_ breathe and eat fire, I immediately thought of you. So, can you come?"

Natsu's face twists into a complicated frown as he scratches the back of his neck.

"I don't know…" he starts before his whole body flinches to a sudden stop. A wide grin spreads over his lips and his eyes sparkle in opportunity. "Yeah! We'll totally go!" he answers excitedly and loudly.

Lisanna flinches from the loud voice before smiling gently at him. Happy narrows his eyes in confusion as he looks at his partner like he's an idiot.

"U-uh, great. Thanks Natsu. I owe you for doing this for me," Lisanna says with a grateful smile.

"No prob! When do we leave!?"

"In an hour? I know it's kinda late noti-"

"Doesn't matter! We'll meet you at the train station!"

Happy turns even more confused as Lisanna slow nods her head suspiciously.

"Natsu, are you okay?" she asks slowly and worriedly.

"Yep," Natsu grins happily. "Everything's great!"

"Ooookay. I'll see you at the train station then," Lisanna says skeptically as she turns around. She waves goodbye as she goes home to pack.

Once Lisanna is out of earshot, Happy flies in front of Natsu's face with a baffled face.

"What are you doing?" he demands with creased brow.

"This is it!" Natsu exclaims with an excited fist pump.

"What's it?"

"This is the answer to our Lucy problem!"

"How?"

"Come on Happy, keep up with the program! Lisanna needs a job partner. We need a good excuse to stay away from Lucy. If we go with Lisanna then we can avoid Lucy!"

Realization hits Happy. A proud smile comes across the blue cat's face.

"Wow Natsu, that's really smart! I can't believe you came up with it!" he says in excitement.

Natsu wildly nods before stopping and narrowing his eyes.

"Wait…" he says suspiciously, "are you calling me stupid!?"

"No," Happy states with an innocent shake of his head. "I'm just saying that you're not smart."

Natsu gapes at his partner before his eyes turn white in irritation.

"I totally have great ideas all the time!" he yells defensively.

"Then why do your plans always fail?" Happy asks while pointing an accusing finger at him.

Lucy, Laxus, and the Thunder Legion are walking toward the guild after finishing their breakfasts when they see the pink haired dragon slayer and flying blue cat arguing.

"Natsu…" Lucy whispers as her eyes widen in surprise.

Laxus and the Thunder Legion look between the blonde woman and the fire mage curiously.

Lucy shakes her head, takes a deep reassuring breath, and plants a smile on her face. She gingerly walks up to the fighting duo with a light wave.

"Hey Natsu. Hey Happy," she says cheerfully.

Natsu and Happy freeze and slowly turn their heads toward the approaching blonde. They glance at each other from the corner of their eyes for a brief moment before forcing nervous smiles along their faces.

"Hey Lucy, fancy meeting you here," Happy chirps tensely.

Lucy raises a curious eyebrow at the flying cat.

"Um…we're in front of the guild. That's not that strange."

Happy and Natsu turn around to look at the guild hall. "Would you look at that!" they exclaim in exaggerated surprise. "We had no idea!"

"Uh…" Lucy moans in confusion.

"Well, would you look at the time!" Natsu shouts as he looks at the imaginary watch on his wrist. "We gotta get going! See ya!"

Natsu motions to Happy before the blue cat sweeps him away toward their home in the East Forest.

"Hey! Wait!" Lucy calls out as she watches them disappear across the roofs of the houses but her words fall on deaf ears. "Wait…come…back…" her voice lowers to a whisper as she stares at the empty sky with wide eyes.

Laxus and the Thunder Legion watched the strange occurrence in silence. They glance at one another in concern before walking up to the blonde woman's back.

"Well," Bickslow's voice cuts into the heavy air, "that was weird. Wonder what's up with them?"

A quiet sob surprises the group as Lucy turns to face them. Tears have gathered in her eyes and her lips are pressed into a straight, flat line.

"Lucy? What's wrong?" Ever asks gently in sudden worry.

Lucy's lips quiver.

"I think Natsu and Happy hate me," she explains in a barely audible whisper.

The Thunder Legion is taken aback and even Laxus' face drops in surprise.

"What!? No! No, no, no! He would never do something like that," Ever immediately denies.

"Yeah!" Bickslow agrees. "Natsu's not that kinda guy!"

"Indeed. He may be rash and impulsive but he deeply cares for all of his fellow guildmates. Particularly everyone on Team Natsu," Freed adds.

"Then why doesn't he want to be around me!?" Lucy cries out as a single tear cascades down her cheek. "He is acting like he can't stand to be near me for more than a couple of minutes."

"What do you mean?" Ever asks, taken aback.

"I-I think h-he's been a-avoiding me for so-some reason," she barely replies as her voice chokes.

"How long has this been going on?" Freed presses lightly.

More tears trail down her skin before she wipes them away with her palm.

"I'm not…totally…sure. I-I think…it's…I mean…" she says between sobs. She takes a deep breath and a moment to gather her thoughts so she can continue in a quiet, level voice. "He told me that he was going to stay away from me since I wanted him to leave me alone. But I never wanted him to go out of his way to avoid me! I only wanted some time to myself."

"When was this?" Freed asks gently yet resolutely.

"At the newspaper office. When I asked Laxus to knock Natsu unconscious."

The Thunder Legion nods their heads while Laxus drops his eyes to the ground.

"I have to admit that I forgot about him for a while. That sounds so horrible. But I was so busy with the jobs that I took with Laxus that I completely forgot about the fight we had. It was only when we were on the train to the LARPing festival that I remembered and felt bad about the whole thing. I tried to be nice to him and talk to him during the festival but he always ran away from me whenever we got too close. I could never be near him for more than a minute. I was starting to get worried that I really hurt him but before I could ask what was bothering him, we were split up. Then you guys came and I never saw him before Laxus and I left and then he wasn't there when you guys came back to Magnolia and…and…" she chokes up as the tears fall once more.

"I don't want him to hate me. He's my best friend. I just things to go back to how they were," she claims meekly as she drops her face into her hands.

Ever wraps her arm around her shoulders and tries to soothe the sobbing girl with a comforting tone. Freed and Bickslow frown while Laxus clenches his fist in anger. A deep growl of irritation and frustration leaves Laxus' throat. Now he understands what Lucy was thinking about yesterday. She was thinking about Natsu and her feelings in regard to him. Sprouts of jealousy burn within his chest as he imagines the pink-haired menace stealing all of Lucy's attention away but he pushes away such selfish thoughts for now.

A part of him wants to comfort the woman and calm her worries, a part is flustered on how to accomplish such a feat, and another part of him wants to punch Natsu across Magnolia for putting her in this state, all at the exact same time.

The sight of Lucy crying over Natsu reminds him of the evening at the newspaper office when she first asked for his help. He can remember how the ash and soot clung to her soft skin and how her hair was in disarray as she sat helplessly on the floor. He can remember how her hands trembled and clenched his in a desperate need for comfort. He can remember the guilt-ridden and apologetic eyes that cried as they looked into his own. He remembers. He remembers _very_ clearly.

And he can't forgive the fire dragon slayer for making her go through that.

The idiot should have realized that he was going overboard with the whole attention-giving situation. He should have just respected Lucy's wishes and gave her some space. It's not that difficult of a thing to do. Then, after enough time had passed, he could spend the day with her again. Instead, all he has done is ignore her to the point that she has begun to doubt whether they are friends or not.

God, Laxus wishes he could punch some sense into the dim-witted bastard.

But right now, the part of him that wants his love to smile again far outweighs his anger.

"Like I told you before, that wasn't your fault," Laxus growls firmly and harshly as he looks up from the ground.

The Thunder Legion pivots their heads around to blink at the man in a stupor. Lucy lifts her head.

"Natsu was being an idiot," he continues, "and you were annoyed. He got what was coming to him. It's his fault if he was too stupid to realize that he was getting on your nerves. And now he's just being an asshole to you. Besides," he sighs, leveling his voice and temper, "Natsu doesn't hate you. That guy wouldn't hate anyone in Fairy Tail. He's just acting like a brat because he didn't get his way. He'll come crawling back to you sooner or later."

As much as Laxus hates the idea of Natsu stealing away Lucy's time, he wants her to be happy and if being on good terms with the fire dragon slayer will make her happy, then that's what Laxus wants for Lucy.

"Yeah, Laxus is right," Bickslow agree with a few strong nods.

"You cannot take responsibility for someone else's actions," Freed wisely consoles.

Lucy looks around the group with wide eyes before dropping them to the floor.

"You guys…really think so?" Lucy meekly asks with a sniffle.

Evergreen smiles at the girl. "Of course. We wouldn't lie to you."

A small tear rolls down her cheek before she chuckles and raises her face with a gracious smile.

Relief floods Laxus' heart at the sight of her smile.

"Thanks guys," she sniffles as she wipes away her last tears.

"It's no problem. Why don't we do something else besides visit the guild today?" Evergreen suggests.

"Yeah, you can hang out with us for the rest of the day. Take your mind off of your worries," Bickslow agrees with a reassuring smile.

Heartfelt joy and thankfulness glow in Lucy's eyes as warmth gathers in her cheeks.

"Yeah, I would like that. Thanks everyone."

* * *

Two days later, Laxus and the Thunder Legion are sitting at the Fairy Tail bar looking over the job that Mira gave Ever and the self-proclaimed fairy queen agreed would be perfect for their Lucy-inclusion-trip.

"What the hell? How is this subtle!?" Laxus whispers harshly before glaring at his grinning teammates.

"It calls for a group of at least five wizards and has a big enough reward that Lucy won't be able to turn it down," Ever defends in just as harsh a whisper.

"It is also ideal in the way that we can split up and you and Lucy can be paired together," Freed tacks on.

"Not to mention all the lovey-dovey atmosphere that's gonna be floating around, could put her in the mood," Bickslow suggests as he wiggles his eyebrows behind his helmet.

"In addition, our parts of the reward will be enough to cover the damages to your house," Freed inserts, trying to lessen his leader's apprehension about the situation.

Laxus sighs and closes his eyes in frustration. He's already getting a horrible feeling about the job itself but also about the white-haired woman who suggested it to Ever.

Over the past two days, Laxus has noticed the way Mira eyed Lucy and him with unwavering curiosity and powerful hope. There were moments when he would see her speaking to the old man before they would glance at him and grin maniacally. Dread filled his bones at the thought at the two scheming over his relationship status with Lucy. His natural reaction was to flee before the two involved him in their plot but he couldn't force himself to leave Lucy's side and abandon her to their conspiracy of doom.

Although his stubbornness kept him nearby, his anxiousness grew with every glance and devilish smile from the duo. Yet, the two white-haired wizards never physically did anything to prove his suspicions…

…until now.

"Fine. But no funny shit," he grits out through anxiety-heightened worry.

Bickslow grins wildly and allows his tongue to fall out as he heartedly laughs, "Don't worry! We'll be smoother than most of Freed's hair!"

Freed's face falls as he turns look at his teammate in annoyance.

"Where is my hair not smooth!?" he demands with a stern voice.

"Right here!" Bickslow exclaims as he pulls on one of Freed's antennae.

Freed gapes at the audacity of the seith mage before swatting his hand away with a glare.

"Those are an exception!"

"Doesn't make it untrue!"

Laxus closes his eyes in exasperation as he tunes the two arguing mages out. His eyes unconsciously trail over to the job board. Papers are messily pinned to the cork board, some look promising with a large sum of offered money and worthy opponents but that's not what he focuses on.

He focuses on the blonde woman that is bent over to look at the bottom on the board. From his angle, he has the perfect view of her round ass and shapely legs. Her breasts droop slightly due to gravity so she unintentionally creates more delicious cleavage to almost spill out of that tight top. She nibbles on her that juicy bottom lip of hers in thought as she debates on which job she should pick.

God, she looks fucking sexy…

His heart flutters happily while simultaneously pumping blood to his lower region. She grabs a flier and straightens up to carefully read it before frowning and putting it back. A deep, dejected sigh rolls from her lips as she turns away from the board and heads toward the bar. He rips his eyes away as he growls low in his throat and tries to will away the erection inducing image from his mind.

"Hey guys," Lucy greets the Thunder Legion and Laxus cheerfully as she sits on the barstool next to Laxus.

Laxus gives her a small smile as his heart continues to beat rapidly and waver wildly.

"You have no idea how much anti-frizz spray I have to use!" Freed yells from behind him.

"That's right! You tell him, Freed!" Ever demands strongly. "Especially after being so close to Laxus all day!"

"Then maybe you two shouldn't be around Laxus all day!" Bickslow retaliates.

Both loudly and visibly gasp in exaggeration.

"How dare you!" they growl.

Laxus turns his head to look over his shoulder with an agitated frown while Lucy leans back to look around him with a confused expression.

"Um…What are they talking about?" she asks with a raised eyebrow as Evergreen slaps Bickslow upside the head while Freed looks like he is about to strangle the man.

"Nothing important," Laxus sighs in exasperation. "Just shit about our next job."

"Job?" she cocks her head to the side curiously. "Your job involves hair?"

Laxus scoffs and shakes his head.

"Fuck, I hope not. Here," he hands her the job request as Bickslow is pushed off of his barstool.

Lucy carefully reads over the paper while Laxus takes the opportunity to lightly shock his team and garner their attention. They quickly stop their bickering and jump back into their seats. Lucy hums in confusion as she reads the details and looks between Laxus and the paper multiple times in confusion.

"Uh, guys? I hate to burst your bubbles and everything but this says that it needs at least five people."

"And?" Laxus grunts, trying to sound indifferent.

Lucy deadpans at him. "Well, according to basic arithmetic, you, Freed, Ever, and Bickslow only makes four. You need one more person."

"That's why we wanted to ask if you would like to join us," Ever states with a smile.

"Me?" Lucy flinches and points at herself.

"Sure," Bickslow nods. "You've never done a job with us before so we thought it might be fun!"

"Laxus also told us how you need money for your rent so we wish to extend such an opportunity to you," Freed adds in a level, sophisticated voice.

"Really?" she asks in disbelief.

"Yes. Please join us, Lucy. I don't want to be stuck with all boys all the time," Ever whines as she waves at the three males.

"Well…" Lucy looks back down at the flier in careful regard.

Minutes pass by as Laxus exchanges a small, almost unnoticeable nervous glance with his team. A part of him is terrified that Lucy will reject them. This plan is a solid first step in his endeavor to date her so if she turns down the job, he might as well take it as an indirect rejection of his feelings—

"Sure, I'll go," Lucy confirms with a bright smile.

Anxiousness and worry instantly morphs into relief and joy. The mask of indifference is plastered in Laxus' face as his organs turn inside out with warmth.

"Good," he grunts and takes a much needed drink of his beer to quench his dry mouth.

"We'll leave tomorrow morning by train so we can meet with our client in the afternoon," Freed begins to explain the technical aspects of the job.

Off to the side, Ever and Bickslow shoot Laxus knowing, proud grins before hailing Mira down for drinks and official job confirmation.

The lightning slayer tries to remain stoic but he can't keep the tiny smile of anticipation away.

* * *

The train ride the next day was relatively pleasant.

As always, Laxus was initially irritated and frustrated with his motion sickness. Lucy took a seat beside him while everyone else sat across from the two. Remembering their first job, Lucy took pity on the poor dragon slayer and yanked him down—with his help—to lay his head on her lap. A pretty, dainty blush spread over her cheeks as she threaded her fingers through his hair and felt his soft hair and warm skin. The shy smile followed once she heard his breathing deepen and muscles relax as he fell asleep.

The private moment, however, was witnessed by three wide-eyed, hopeful spectators. Ever had a death grip on Bickslow and Freed's elbows in excitement and joy. Bickslow has to bite down on his tongue to keep it from rolling out and making sexual jokes. Freed had his lips pressed into a hard line and was wringing his hands in anticipation.

After calming down, Freed pretended to read his book while secretly watching the duo from over the top of the pages. Bickslow annoyed Ever by teasing her about her relationship with Elfman for entertainment by making suggestive innuendos. Ever, in turn, would heavily blush and threaten to castrate the man if he didn't shut his trap. Lucy continued to massage Laxus' head as she stared out to the window.

So all in all, not bad.

Later that day, they met with the job requester. The man is named Ludwig Beilschmidt and he is a wealthy man that made his money mass producing weapons for the Fiore army and navy. Lucy almost had flashbacks because he reminded her so much of her own father. He has a tough, too-serious, and efficient attitude that Lucy found a bit intimidating. He is around six feet tall, has slicked back light blonde hair, clear baby blue eyes, and a strong chin. If it wasn't for the bursts of annoyed, angry yet humorous yelling at his dopey business partner, Lucy might have thought her father had been reincarnated.

The reason he needs five wizards is that his daughter is getting married at the end of the week and he wants everything to be perfect for his darling baby's special day. There have been rumors floating around that some unruly characters might try to crash the wedding and cause a scene out of lingering resentment for the military tycoon so he decided that he needed "reinforcements" and went straight to the strongest guild in the country to avoid any complications or risks.

Lucy just thinks the guy is being slightly paranoid and overly controlling, to be honest.

The Fairy Tail mages will be staying with him and his daughter in his mansion until the wedding is over. They will be protecting everyone throughout the day of the wedding; including the pre-wedding reception which will be held in the ballroom on the bottom floor, the journey into town, and at the church for the ceremony. The bride and the groom will leave immediately afterwards for their honeymoon and their job will be complete.

Sounds simple enough.


End file.
